Competition to provide Downing Street Christmas tree
The British Christmas Tree Growers Association (BCTGA) will be hosting a competition to determine the supplier of this year’s Christmas tree for Downing Street.
The event will take place at Billingley Christmas Tree Farm in South Yorkshire next month, where expert growers from across the UK will showcase their finest homegrown trees.
The competition is sponsored by HD2412, a supplier of equipment for real Christmas tree production, and their UK distributor Billingley Christmas Trees Ltd.
The winner of the Champion Christmas Tree Grower of the Year 2023 title will provide the Downing Street Christmas tree in December, while the winner of the Champion Festive Wreath category will supply the wreath for the Prime Minister’s door.
Organized by the BCTGA, this annual competition has been running since 1999. The event will feature special guest Peter Wright, known for his role on Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet, who will also serve as a judge. Peter will select his favourite tree as the recipient of the Celebrity Choice Award.
Heather Parry, Managing Agent for BCTGA, expressed excitement about bringing together the best Christmas trees in Britain for this highly anticipated competition. The judges face a challenging task in selecting a winner from among these exceptional trees. This event celebrates the hard work and skill of growers across the UK and showcases the unparalleled quality of locally and sustainably grown Christmas trees.
British Christmas tree growers are proving to be innovative in response to the challenges posed by testing weather conditions. For example, many growers have moved their planting from Spring to Autumn to give young trees time to establish over the winter months.