New Year's Tree Lighting and Independence Square Celebrations: Dates, Tickets & Venue (Tashkent)

A tree in the city’s ceremonial square

Tashkent puts its main New Year tree in its most formal space. Independence Square, Mustaqillik Maydoni in Uzbek, is the broad government square where the country marks its national holidays. In late December 2026 the city’s main holiday tree is lit there, and a week of nightly light shows and seasonal music follows.

In Uzbekistan, New Year is the big secular celebration of winter. Families gather and children wait for Qor Bobo, the Uzbek Grandfather Frost, and his granddaughter Qorqiz, the Snow Maiden. Tashkent is a city where people speak both Uzbek and Russian, so you will hear the tree called archa and yolka. At this tree the whole city celebrates together, in public.

The square after dark

Independence Square is wide and open, with long paved avenues, fountain basins and clipped lawns. The Senate building and other government buildings stand around it. At the main entrance is the Arch of Good and Noble Aspirations, a colonnade topped with sculpted storks. On a winter night the tree is the brightest thing in a space built for parades.

The light shows run after the lighting, so the square stays busy for the rest of the week. On a December evening Tashkent is usually around freezing or a little above. Snow is possible but not certain. Locals come in proper winter coats and hats, because standing still on stone paving takes the heat out of you fast.

Inside the square you will also find:

• The Mourning Mother monument and its eternal flame, a quiet corner at the edge of the grounds
• The Independence Monument, a globe on a pedestal at the centre of the square
• Long tree-lined alleys, the easiest place to walk away from the tightest knot of people at the tree

Getting to Mustaqillik Maydoni

The metro is the simplest way in. Mustaqillik Maydoni station on the Chilonzor line lets you out right beside the square. Tashkent’s Soviet-era stations are worth seeing in their own right, with chandeliers, marble and themed decoration. Kosmonavtlar station, decorated on a space theme, is a short ride away.

Paxtakor station, also on the Chilonzor line, connects to Alisher Navoi on the Uzbekistan line. This makes the square easy to reach from most central hotels. On busy holiday evenings, Yandex Go taxis struggle to pull up near the square. Many visitors take one to a nearby street and walk the last stretch instead.

Dates, tickets and what’s actually known

This edition takes place in late December 2026. The lighting opens the week, and nightly light shows and seasonal music follow. The facts we hold do not give a specific performance lineup, exact show times or a ticketing platform, so we don’t list any here.

Independence Square is an open public space that people walk through all year. A tree-lighting there works as a city celebration you can join, not as a gated concert. If any separate ticketed concert is staged that week, its price and access appear on that concert’s own listing.

How the city celebrates around the tree

Tashkent’s New Year has a family feel. A few habits will help you fit in:

• The greeting: “Yangi yil muborak” in Uzbek, or “S Novym godom” in Russian. Both are used everywhere in the city.
• Photos: Families queue for pictures in front of the tree, and people take turns. Stepping into someone’s shot is the quickest way to annoy the crowd.
• Costumed characters: Qor Bobo and Qorqiz figures often pose with children. A small tip for a photo is customary, so carry a few small notes.
• Security: Government squares in Tashkent have a police presence, and some buildings are off-limits for photos. Officers will tell you if a spot is closed. People tend to follow these instructions without arguing.
• Payment: Cards are widely accepted in central Tashkent, but street sellers and small kiosks often take cash only.

Most people come for an hour or so on the lighting night or on one of the show nights. After that they move on to dinner.

Making a night of it nearby

The square is a short walk from the rest of central Tashkent. Amir Timur Square, with its equestrian statue of Timur and the domed Amir Timur Museum, lies to the east. Between the two runs Sayilgoh Street, known as Tashkent Broadway. It is a pedestrian strip of stalls, cafés and street artists that stays busy in the evenings.

Plov is the classic dish of the holiday table. Central Asian Plov Centre, near the TV tower, serves it from huge kazan pots at lunchtime. In the evening the restaurants around Amir Timur Square and Broadway are the easy choice. Plenty of them serve shashlik and hot green tea, which is welcome after an hour out in the cold.