New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world can often by anticlimactic, but that’s rarely the case for revellers who gather in London to watch the city’s annual fireworks display.
Always a big-budget spectacle, the display is deployed beside and from the London Eye and in previous years has drawn crowds of up to 250,000 people. That’s a testament to the event’s quality, but it’s also presented some logistical issues for organisers. For the first time, last year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks was ticketed and only those who purchased a £10 ticket were permitted to view the spectacle from the official viewing platforms at Victoria Embankment and in the surrounding area.
This year's display is also ticketed, and for those who have one of the 113,000 issued tickets in their possession, celebrations should build momentum from around 10pm on December 31. For the first time, the celebrations will support Unicef's Resolution for Children (as will Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations) and to mark the partnership landmarks throughout the capital will be lit in blue. They include the BT Tower, the national Theatre, the Shard and the Shell building.
While the exact schedule for this year’s fireworks display and build-up hasn’t been released, at that point a DJ usually plays to spectators, right up until Big Ben strikes midnight and a blaze of fireworks explodes from the Eye. Lasting this year for 11 minutes and 15 seconds, the display will conclude with a mass rendition of Auld Lang Syne and things wind down at about 12.45am. For an idea of what things are like, you can see this video of London's New Year's Eve fireworks display, taken last year.
What can I do if I don’t have a ticket for the official display?
Event organisers are clear that those without tickets will not be admitted to the official viewing areas. Their advice is simple: don't come. Of course, there are other places where the fireworks can be enjoyed from, not least some of the city’s best rooftop bars, though you should again anticipate that they will be busy or hosting ticketed events that have already sold out. Outside the official viewing areas, other bridges – such as Tower Bridge, Southwark Bridge and the Millennium Bridge – and walkways by the river are likely to attract large crowds but the views won’t be as good, the volume of spectators could prove uncomfortable and some of the bridges, such as the Millennium Bridge, will be closed altogether. Availability is limited but a number of London's hotels with river views are hosting special events on the night and many have rooms that will overlook the fireworks display. Additionally, guests who attend the New Year's Eve dinner at the Corinthia hotel on Embankment will also be allowed to enter the ticketed area for this year's fireworks as the hotel lies within a restricted-access zone.
New Year's Eve in London
NYE fireworks seen from the Houses of Parliament. Image: Fotolia
Safety measures
The current terror threat from international terrorism in London and throughout the United Kingdom is severe (which means that a terrorist attack is highly likely, but not necessarily imminent). The country’s terrorism threat has been categorised at this level – the second most serious – since August 2014. The Metropolitan Police Service has stated that the security measures in place this year “are purely precautionary and not as a result of any specific intelligence,” but nonetheless revellers should expect to notice a strong police presence. Some 3,000 officers will be patrolling central London, both within and outside the ticketed areas, during the New Year's Eve celebrations and there will be extra British Transport Police officers in and around central London transport hubs throughout New Year’s Eve. For more information on those measures, see our guide to London New Year's Eve security and public safety information.
Public transport in London on New Year's Eve
The entire city will be heavily congested on New Year's Eve and commuters should expect station closures, diversions and complications en route due to planned engineering works. The TfL website will be the best source for up-to-date travel information on New Year's Eve itself and roads and bridges throughout London will close from 2pm on New Year's Eve and reopen from 6am on New Year's Day.
Staggered road closures will commence at 2pm
A glimmer of good news comes, however, from TfL. It is this year collaborating with kayak.co.uk to offer free transport across its network from 11.45pm on New Year's Eve until 4.30am on New Year's Day.
Who to follow
And during the night itself, the most immediate New Year’s Eve updates, guidance and advice can be accessed via social media. Updates from the office of the Mayor of London and staff at City Hall will be disseminated through the @LDN_gov Twitter account and the Metropolitan Police Service will be tweeting from the @MetPoliceEvents account. Further information will be available at www.met.police.uk and www.london.gov.uk.
Did you know:
The London Eye is an appropriate backdrop for New Year’s Eve celebrations. It was developed to commemorate the new millennium, although delays meant it wasn’t opened until March 2000.
Big Ben, the bell within the Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster, weighs about 13 and a half tons. Learn more about its origins in our feature on the bell's history and most significant moments.
London New Year's Eve facts and figures
•306 have worked since December 27 to get the display up and running.
•Some 3,000 staff (including stewards) will work on the night itself
•On the night, some 12,000 fireworks will produce 50,000 projectiles
•To keep everyone in place, 16,800 metres of bariiers will be used
Discover more:
For more on what to do in London and information on the capital’s best restaurants, bars, hotels and attractions, see our complete London city break guide.
For other things to do on holidays in London during Christmas and New Year’s, see our guide to London’s best winter ice rinks; London’s best restaurants and London’s best afternoon teas
Fireworks at the London Eye usher in the new year
Image: Alamy
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