Bright lights, world city

Nights at the Circus

THEY are an instantly recognisable symbol of London, but, perhaps appropriately for such a global city, the advertising lights at Piccadilly Circus, first switched on in 1908, have mostly been a catwalk for foreign brands, rather than domestic ones. Now Sanyo, which has flashed its name at the site since 1978, is to make way for Hyundai, a South Korean carmaker, which will pay Land Securities, the firm that owns the electronic hoardings, around £2m ($3.3m) a year for a central spot.

For the past century, the glittery displays have reflected shifts in international influence in business and beyond. British and European brands predominated until after the second world war: Perrier, a French drinks firm, was the first to spell its name in lights; Guinness, Bovril and Schweppes, three other beverage-makers, were also early presences. Yet the London landmark has not hosted a British company for nearly 40 years.

By the 1960s Americans were well established: Coca-Cola has been adding life to the lights since 1955; other American torchbearers have included Budweiser and McDonald's. As Asian companies began to conquer global markets in the 1970s, so Japanese businesses started to colonise the Piccadilly boards. Canon led, followed by Fuji and TDK. The South Koreans came next. The illuminations in New York's Times Square, which feature multiple American brands and also advertise shows, are comparatively parochial.

As the geographical spread has tellingly shifted, so has the mix of products on display. Disposable incomes rose, consumers became more ambitious and the cheap and easy pleasures of Player's cigarettes and Skol and Double Diamond beer gave way to the new opiates of the masses: Kodak cameras, Philips hi-fis and Panasonic colour televisions, as well as the aspirational pull of the Volkswagen Beetle and foreign air travel.

The lights have sometimes reflected momentous events, as well as commercial trends. Though overrun with American GIs, Piccadilly Circus was dark throughout the second world war, lighting up again only in 1949. The signs have since been dimmed for the funerals of Winston Churchill in 1965 and Princess Diana in 1997. With the rise of LED displays and decline of neon the lights are now brighter than ever. But they may yet need to find some greener hues in their multicoloured glory: they generate 1.9m kg of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the emissions of around 2,000 of Hyundai's bestselling cars. That is a lot of gas for a set of streetlights.