The UK Christmas number one is the song at the top of the Official Singles Chart in the chart week that finishes just before Christmas. Nobody votes for it and no panel picks it: eligible UK sales and streams decide it. In 2026 the race runs from Friday 18 December until 11.59pm on Thursday 24 December, and the Official Charts Company expects to name the winner on Christmas Day, Friday 25 December.
Under that simple answer are chart rules covering how much a stream is worth, why some festive classics can still win and how many songs a single artist can have in the chart. This guide explains how the Christmas number one works as of October 2026.
What the Christmas number one actually is
There is no special Christmas chart with rules of its own. The Christmas number one is simply the normal weekly Official Singles Chart for the week that includes the run-up to Christmas, compiled the same way as every other week of the year. The title goes to whichever song tops that chart.
A few points often cause confusion:
- The song does not need to be about Christmas. Any eligible single can win.
- There is no public vote. Fan campaigns may talk about “voting”, but only purchases and streams count.
- It is a long tradition. The first Christmas number one was Al Martino’s “Here In My Heart” in 1952, the year the singles chart began. The Official Charts Company says 2026 will produce the 75th.
When the Christmas number one 2026 will be decided
The Official Charts week normally runs from Friday to Thursday, and the new chart comes out the following day. In 2026, Christmas Day falls on a Friday, which shapes the timetable:
- Race opens: Friday 18 December 2026.
- Race closes: 11.59pm GMT on Thursday 24 December, Christmas Eve, after seven days of eligible sales and streams.
- Winner announced: Christmas Day, Friday 25 December, on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart with Jack Saunders. The broadcast time had not been confirmed by late October.
The full Top 100 Christmas singles and albums charts will also be published on OfficialCharts.com. The Official Charts Company notes that Christmas Day last fell on a Friday in 2020, the year LadBaby won with “Don’t Stop Me Eatin'”.
For comparison, the 2025 race ran from 12 to 18 December. The winner was revealed on Friday 19 December, with the Christmas Top 40 counted down on Radio 1 from 3pm and the Top 100 posted online from 5.45pm.
How the Official Singles Chart is compiled
The Official Charts Company compiles the chart for the British music industry, collecting data from more than 8,000 chart-reporting retailers and digital services. The research firm Kantar handles the compilation and product matching on its behalf. Several kinds of consumption go into one combined chart:
- physical sales, such as CDs and vinyl
- digital downloads
- audio streams
- video streams
The mix has changed over time. Downloads were added in 2004. Audio streams joined the singles chart in July 2014, and video streams followed in July 2018. That is why a Christmas number one today can be driven almost entirely by listening on platforms such as Spotify, rather than by shoppers buying CDs on the high street.
How streams count towards the Christmas number one
Streams are not counted one-for-one with sales. The chart rules convert them into “sales equivalents” using fixed ratios, and those ratios depend on the type of stream. Under the singles chart rules published by the Official Charts Company (the August 2023 edition linked from its rules page as of October 2026):
- Premium streams: 100 streams count as one sale. These come from paid-for subscription services, including free trials of those services.
- Ad-funded streams: 600 streams count as one sale. These come from on-demand services that are free to the listener and paid for by advertising.
In practice, a stream from a paying subscriber is worth six times as much as one from a free account. Those stream-based totals are then added to physical sales and downloads, which each count as one sale.
Sales must also meet minimum price rules. For example, the minimum dealer price is 40p for a single download, 50p for a 7-inch vinyl single and £1.99 for a 12-inch single. Formats priced below these levels do not count towards the chart.
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The Accelerated Chart Ratio: why fading hits count for less
Once a song has been on the chart for a while and its streams are falling, its streams are worth less. The rules call this the Accelerated Chart Ratio (ACR):
- After three weeks in a row of decline, the ratio doubles to 200 premium streams, or 1,200 ad-funded streams, per sale.
- “Decline” means the song’s combined audio and video streams fell week on week and did worse than the streaming market as a whole.
- ACR cannot be applied to a song with fewer than nine weeks on the chart, so the earliest it can apply is in the tenth week.
Songs can switch back to the standard ratio. A track in the Top 100 that is less than three years old resets automatically if its streams rise by 25 percentage points more than the market in a week. An older track can also reset if it has not been in the Top 100 for three years, but the rules exclude songs in the Christmas genre from that route. Labels can also ask for a manual reset for up to two tracks per album that are outside the Top 100. They must give a week’s notice and get approval.
Can old Christmas songs still win?
Yes. Festive classics play by the same chart rules as new releases, and they can and do win. Wham!’s “Last Christmas” was the Christmas number one in both 2023 and 2024. In 2025, Kylie Minogue’s “XMAS” took the title and ended that two-year run.
Each December, new releases, campaign records and festive classics compete on the same terms. The winner is simply whichever song collects the most chart sales in that single week.
The three-track rule
An artist with a huge album cannot fill the chart with every track. The rules allow no more than three singles by the same artist in the Top 100 to be chart-eligible in any week, and these are the artist’s three most popular singles that week. Songs on which the artist is the main act count towards that limit even when another artist is featured. Equal collaborations count towards the artist of the label that releases them.
How to follow the Christmas chart race
The Official Charts Company publishes news about the contenders in the weeks before Christmas, and its website carries the full charts once they are released. The winner itself is revealed on BBC Radio 1. Anyone who wants to back a particular song can only buy it or stream it in the eligible week: streams on a paid subscription carry the most weight, and a single download or physical copy counts the same as 100 premium streams.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Christmas number one have to be a Christmas song?
No. It is whichever single tops the Official Singles Chart in the Christmas chart week, whatever its subject.
When is the Christmas number one 2026 announced?
The Official Charts Company expects to reveal it on Friday 25 December 2026 on BBC Radio 1, after a chart week running from 18 to 24 December.
How many streams equal one sale?
Normally 100 paid (premium) streams or 600 ad-funded streams. For songs on the Accelerated Chart Ratio, the figures double to 200 and 1,200.
Do video streams count?
Yes. Video streams have counted towards the Official Singles Chart since July 2018.
Can I vote for the Christmas number one?
No. There is no vote. Only eligible UK sales and streams during the chart week count.
Sources: Official Charts Company, When will the Christmas Number 1 2026 be announced? (26 October 2026); Official Charts Company, When will the 2025 Christmas Number 1 be announced? (20 November 2025); Official Charts Company, Rules for Chart Eligibility: Singles (August 2023); Official Charts Company, How the charts are compiled (accessed October 2026); Official Charts Company, History of the Official Charts (accessed October 2026).
