A group of men singing carols outside a lit up building. They are wearing matching teal blue woolly hats.

Celebrate a Life carol services

Join us in celebrating your shining stars at our carol services outside The Royal Marsden hospitals in Sutton and Chelsea. 

     Service details    On the night    Order of service    Watch online

Celebrate a Life carol services

This year we are delighted to invite you to join us in celebrating your shining stars at our carol services, which take place outside our hospitals in Chelsea and Sutton.

During these special services, we will switch on the Christmas tree lights and come together to enjoy a selection of carols, prayers, and readings, with performances from local choirs and bands. 

Sutton service

Tuesday 3 December at 6pm

Join us at the front of The Royal Marsden Hospital, Downs Rd, Sutton SM2 5PT

Chelsea Service

Thursday 5 December at 6pm 

Join us at the front of The Royal Marsden Hospital, 203 Fulham Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 6JJ. If you are attending the Chelsea event, please note there is no parking available. 

A woman in a stripy knitted scarf and black glasses smiling up at the Christmas tree
The facade of The Royal Marsden in Chelsea lit up with star lights. There is a lit up Christmas tree in front.
A woman looks for a star on the Christmas tree at the Celebrate a Life carol service
A group of three young women and a man in winter coats and hats. They are standing in front of the Celebrate a Life Christmas tree. In the background, Christmas lights glow and light up the front of The Royal Marsden hospital entrance in Chelsea.
A wide angle shot of a brass band playing carols. They are playing bright silver instruments. In the background a red brick building is lit up with stars and lights.
The backs of two people looking up at the large Christmas tree decorated in lights and gold stars
A woman in a stripy knitted scarf and black glasses smiling up at the Christmas tree
The facade of The Royal Marsden in Chelsea lit up with star lights. There is a lit up Christmas tree in front.
A woman looks for a star on the Christmas tree at the Celebrate a Life carol service
A group of three young women and a man in winter coats and hats. They are standing in front of the Celebrate a Life Christmas tree. In the background, Christmas lights glow and light up the front of The Royal Marsden hospital entrance in Chelsea.
A wide angle shot of a brass band playing carols. They are playing bright silver instruments. In the background a red brick building is lit up with stars and lights.
The backs of two people looking up at the large Christmas tree decorated in lights and gold stars
A person in a woollen bobble hat holding a star decoration on a Christmas tree.

On the night

Both services take place outside, so if you are joining us on the night, please wrap up warm and bring an umbrella – just in case! Limited seating is available at both carol services with only a few seats available for those who require them. The Charity’s offices, in both Sutton and Chelsea, will also be closed to visitors on the evening of the events, but there will be information stands outside to help you with anything you may need.

2024 Order of Service

A printed Order of Service listing all your special Celebrate a Life star names will be available at both the carol services. A downloadable version is also available online closer to the time. To ensure your shining star's name is printed in our Order of Service, please ensure that you name your stars before 8 November 2024.

Name your star
A wide angle shot of a brass band playing carols. They are playing bright silver instruments. In the background a red brick building is lit up with stars and lights.

Filming and photography at the event

The carol service events will be live streamed and the recordings will be made available on our website and on Facebook. 

By attending the event, you consent to the use of the images taken and the recording of the event (your images) by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to show the event as set out above and for other fundraising purposes. This includes but is not limited to, advertising, publications, marketing material and in other media that may be made available to the public. By attending our Celebrate a Life services, you consent to your images being used in this way. Please note this consent is not revocable. 

There will be an area designated and clearly signposted as “out of shot” at both the Sutton and Chelsea services. These areas will not be filmed or photographed during the event, so please use these spaces if you do not wish to be filmed or included in photography.

For more information, please see our privacy policy.

We are here to help you

If you have any questions or would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

To receive updates about Celebrate a Life including details about the carol services, please get in touch at [email protected] 

Watch the carol services online

If you cannot attend the services, you can still be a part of Celebrate a Life by joining us virtually.

Both services will be streamed on our Facebook page. The recordings will also be available to watch on our website following the services. 

To watch the live streamed services on Facebook, you do not need to have an account. If you are asked to sign up, you can click 'skip' or 'not now' and you will be able to access the live streams. If you would like to interact with the stream or comment you will need to be logged into a Facebook account. 

Sutton carol service livestream

Watch live on December 3 from 6pm. The link will be available here closer to the event. 

Chelsea carol service livestream.

Watch live on December 5 from 6pm. The link will be available here closer to the event. 

The stories behind the stars

Name your shining star today

Every star names helps make a vital difference to people affected by cancer.

Name your star