Oxford Street and other areas of Central London such as Bond Street and Piccadilly due to "pickpocketing, fraud and theft". The advent of closed-circuit television has reduced the area's attraction to scam artists and illegal street traders. Every Christmas, Oxford Street is decorated with festive lights. The tradition of Christmas lights began in 1959, five years after neighbouring Regent Street. There were no light displays in 1976 or 1977 because of economic recession, but the lights returned in 1978 when Oxford Street organised a laser display, and have continued every year since. Current practice involves a celebrity turning the lights on in
George Street, Oxford George Street, Oxford George Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It is a shopping street running east-west. Its eastern end meets Broad Street at a crossroads with Cornmarket Street to the south and Magdalen Street to the north. Its western end meets Hythe Bridge Street at a crossroads with Worcester Street. The New Theatre Oxford, Oxford's main commercial theatre, is on the north side of the street. For a time it was the Apollo Theatre but it has now reverted to its earlier name. The Burton Taylor Studio is in Gloucester Street, which runs off the north side