Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour 2026: Dates, Locations and How This Year’s Vote Works

Updated Thursday 5 November 2026 — the public vote closed on 3 November and no 2026 stops have been announced yet

The Coca-Cola Christmas Truck is one of the most searched-for festive events in the UK, and 2026 brings the biggest change to the tour in years. Instead of Coca-Cola simply picking the route, the public has had a say for the first time.

Many pages promising “2026 dates and locations” are actually showing last year’s list. This guide sets out what Coca-Cola has officially confirmed for 2026, how the vote works and why winning it does not guarantee a visit. It also lists every 2025 and 2024 stop, so you can see the pattern for yourself. We will add each 2026 stop here as soon as it is announced.

Coca-Cola truck tour 2026: what we know so far

Sources: Coca-Cola GB’s promotion terms and conditions and Christmas Truck Tour page; the 15-location figure is from Insider Media and Examiner Live.

When will the 2026 dates and locations be announced?

Do not expect a full route in advance. Coca-Cola’s 2026 terms state that confirmed stops will be announced 24 to 48 hours before each visit. That means the route will be revealed a stop or two at a time throughout November and December.

That is the same approach Coca-Cola took last year. In 2025 it kept stops confidential and revealed a handful of locations at a time, Examiner Live reported, and even by 28 November the final destination was unknown.

If 2026 follows the same rhythm, the first stops should be announced in the second half of November. To hear about a stop near you as early as possible, keep an eye on:

• the Coca-Cola GB Christmas Truck Tour page;
• Coca-Cola GB on X and Instagram;
• this page, which we will update with every stop as it is confirmed.

Official stops are the ones Coca-Cola GB announces. If a local event advertises a “Coca-Cola truck”, check it against Coca-Cola’s own channels before you travel.

The 2026 vote: how it worked

For the first time, people across Great Britain were invited to vote for the town they would most like the truck to visit. According to the official terms:

• Dates: voting opened at 9am on Tuesday 20 October and closed on Tuesday 3 November 2026.
• Who could vote: residents of England, Scotland and Wales aged 18 or over. Northern Ireland was not included.
• How many votes: up to three per person, for the same town or different towns, cast through a Coca-Cola account.
• What it decides: the five eligible towns with the most valid votes will be considered for a visit in November or December 2026.

One detail differs between sources. The terms and conditions say voting closed at 4pm on 3 November, while Coca-Cola’s launch press release, published by Wholesale Manager, said midnight. Either way, the vote is now closed.

Who backed which town?

Social media star Joe Sugg launched the vote by backing Corsham in Wiltshire, where he went to school. Towns also ran their own campaigns: Preston’s business improvement district urged people to vote to bring the truck back for the first time since 2014, Blog Preston reported.

Coca-Cola has not yet said which towns made the top five. We will add them here once they are announced.

Why Coca-Cola is running a vote

Coca-Cola launched the vote alongside a survey of 2,006 people. It found that 82% wish their local town felt more festive at Christmas, and that the most popular reason for choosing a town was that it does not usually get major festive events (36%), according to the press release.

The format is not entirely new for Coca-Cola. In Germany, fans voted for an extra truck stop in 2024, according to Markt-Kom, and a German vote for 2026 is open until 8 November, GIGA reports. Britain is the latest market to try it.

There is a commercial angle too. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, which bottles and sells Coca-Cola in Great Britain, said the truck matters to its retail and hospitality customers and could help put local high streets in the spotlight, in the launch press release.

Does winning the vote guarantee a visit?

No. The terms are clear that getting one of the highest vote counts does not guarantee a stop. A town is only chosen if a suitable site passes Coca-Cola’s checks, and these are surprisingly strict:

Source: Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour 2026 terms and conditions, clauses 9 and 23.

Those rules explain why so many stops end up in supermarket car parks, retail parks and pub car parks rather than in historic town squares. A narrow high street may have plenty of votes and still not be able to take the truck. The last rule follows Coca-Cola’s responsible marketing policy, which bars the truck from places aimed mainly at young children.

Confirmed 2026 stops

We will add each stop to this table as soon as Coca-Cola confirms it.

Coca-Cola truck tour 2025: every confirmed stop

The 2025 tour was billed as 15 locations. These are the stops confirmed at the time by Coca-Cola’s announcements and reported by several outlets. Every stop ran from 12pm to 8pm.

Sources: DesignMyNight and Skint Dad. The remaining two of the 15 stops were not widely reported, so we have not listed them.

Where did the Coca-Cola truck go in 2024?

The 2024 tour also had 15 stops and welcomed more than 53,000 visitors, according to Insider Media. It looked very different from 2025:

Source: Time Out and Insider Media.

What the last two tours tell us about 2026

Put the two lists side by side and a clear shift appears. In 2024 the truck mostly visited big-city shopping centres such as the Bullring, the Metrocentre and Gunwharf Quays, and it launched in London. In 2025 it went to more towns and stopped mainly at supermarkets, retail parks and pubs, in places such as Burton-upon-Trent, Hatfield, Epsom and Camberley.

The 2026 vote, which Coca-Cola says is about finding towns that “need some extra festive cheer”, looks like the next step in that direction. A few patterns are worth knowing, though none of them is a promise:

• Edinburgh has opened or hosted early stops: Fort Kinnaird appeared in both 2024 and 2025, and Edinburgh launched the 2025 tour.
• The North West is a regular: the Trafford Centre and Speke in Liverpool featured in both years.
• Cardiff has closed the tour: the final stop was in Cardiff in both 2024 and 2025.
• Stops cluster at weekends: all but one 2025 stop fell between Thursday and Sunday, and twice the truck visited the same area on back-to-back days (Edinburgh and Ipswich).

In 2026, 21 November falls on a Saturday, so if Coca-Cola keeps a similar start date, the first stops could land on that weekend. Treat that as an educated guess until Coca-Cola confirms.

What happens at a Coca-Cola truck stop?

According to Coca-Cola, the truck arrives under a canopy of lights and turns the site into a winter scene, with the red truck as the backdrop for photos. Visitors can play festive games, win Coca-Cola merchandise and pick up a free Coca-Cola Original Taste, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar or Diet Coke.

Entry is free and there are no tickets. You simply turn up during opening hours, which were 12pm to 8pm at every 2025 stop. Expect a queue for the photo spot, especially after dark when the lights are on and at weekend stops.

Tips for visiting the Coca-Cola truck in 2026

1. Act fast on announcements. With only 24 to 48 hours’ notice, turn on notifications for Coca-Cola GB’s social accounts or check back here.
2. Go early for shorter queues. Weekday afternoons are likely to be calmer than evenings and weekends, when the lights look their best and crowds build.
3. Check parking. Many stops are in supermarket or pub car parks, so spaces fill quickly. Public transport or a short walk may be easier.
4. Dress for December. Stops are outdoors, and you could be queuing for some time.
5. Combine it with your shopping. If the truck is at a supermarket, do your big Christmas shop on the same trip.

Planning a supermarket trip around a stop? See our supermarket Christmas opening hours 2026 guide for every chain’s festive hours.

Why the truck tour has critics

Not everyone is a fan. In previous years, public health experts have called for the tour to be banned, arguing that it promotes sugary drinks to families at Christmas, the News Letter reported. Coca-Cola has defended the tour, saying at the time that most drinks handed out would be zero sugar, according to WRAL.

Under Coca-Cola’s responsible marketing policy, the 2026 terms rule out stops at or next to primary schools, playgrounds or venues aimed mainly at children under 13. Two of the three free drinks on offer are sugar-free.

Coca-Cola Christmas truck tour 2026: FAQs

When does the Coca-Cola truck tour 2026 start?

Coca-Cola has not announced a start date. Its terms say visits will take place in November and December 2026. Last year the tour started on Friday 21 November.

Where is the Coca-Cola truck going in 2026?

No stops have been confirmed yet. Coca-Cola will announce each one 24 to 48 hours before the visit, and we will list them on this page.

Can I still vote for my town?

No. Voting closed on Tuesday 3 November 2026.

Which towns won the Coca-Cola truck vote?

Coca-Cola has not yet named the top five towns. Even those towns are only guaranteed to be considered, not visited.

How many stops will there be in 2026?

Coca-Cola has not said. The tour was billed as 15 locations in both 2024 and 2025.

Is the Coca-Cola truck free to visit?

Yes. Entry is free, no purchase is needed and the drinks are free.

What time is the Coca-Cola truck open?

Every 2025 stop ran from 12pm to 8pm. Check each 2026 announcement, as times can change.

Is the Coca-Cola truck coming to Northern Ireland?

Unknown. Northern Ireland was not included in the 2026 vote, but Belfast hosted a stop at Custom House Square in 2024.

Is the Coca-Cola truck coming to London?

Not confirmed. London launched the 2024 tour, but it did not appear among the widely reported 2025 stops, the nearest being Epsom and Hatfield.