London's New Year's Eve festivities have regularly consisted of a midnight

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

show; the focal point of the festivities are the South Bank, where the chimes of Big Ben at midnight signify the arrival of the new year, and pyrotechnics are launched from barges along the River Thames and from the London Eye observation wheel. New Year's Eve celebrations were first held in an organised fashion in 1999 to celebrate the arrival of the year 2000. Due to disputes with the city, the New Year's fireworks shows were not held again regularly until New Year's Eve 2004, where

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began to organise the show on behalf of the city of London. Titanium Fireworks are responsible for the pyrotechnics. Public New Year's Eve festivities in London were suspended during

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, being replaced by television-only events due to restrictions or uncertainties surrounding public gatherings. These presentations for New Year's Eve 2021 and 2022 included a fireworks and drone show, held at different London landmarks rather than the South Bank. To discourage public viewing, the locations of the shows were not announced in advance.

History

2000–05

A 20-minute New Year's fireworks display was organised by the Greater London Authority for the first time to celebrate the year 2000. It was produced by Bob Geldof's Ten Alps, and estimated to have been seen in-person by three million people. It was announced that the show would feature an effect at midnight consisting of -tall flames in an "advancing river of fire going upstream at 650 mph" down the Thames (representing the speed of the Earth's rotation), although the "river of fire" effect was panned by critics and spectators who believed that the result did not resemble what was suggested by the organisers. Geldof believed that the event was successful, and hoped that it would become an annual tradition. In the aftermath of the events, there were reports of overcrowding on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

, and the Metropolitan Police had to pay £3 million in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. The GLA planned to host a second event for New Year's Eve 2001, which would also be organised by Ten Alps, and co-produced by Australian Syd Howard (who worked

Sydney New Year's Eve Sydney New Year's Eve is an annual New Year's Eve fireworks event in Sydney, Australia. The event currently consists of two fireworks shows, with an evening display known as the "Family Fireworks" held at 9:00 p.m. AEST, and the main "Midnight ...

and the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

). Unlike 2000, the main fireworks display would have instead taken place earlier in the evening at 7 p.m., with a smaller display at midnight. However, in November 2000, it was announced that the event had been cancelled due to safety concerns raised by the Underground and London police. Approximately 80,000 revellers gathered around

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

to celebrate the New Year, as had been a tradition for many years. A fireworks show returned for 2003–04 event, with

becoming producer. Ahead of the 2004–05 event, London Assembly member Bob Neill argued that London's New Year's Eve festivities were not as good as those of Paris or

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

—two of its competitors in bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics—stating that "If we are to be a serious contender for the Olympics we want to be able to show that London can put on a decent show." Out of respect for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, a planned light show approaching the fireworks was cancelled and replaced by a

moment of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of ...

for victims of the tragedy.

2011–2020

2020–21

On 18 September 2020, Mayor of London

Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...

told

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...

that the 2020–21 fireworks at the London Eye had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, as it would encourage public gatherings discouraged under public health orders and guidance at the time. Khan, as well as the office of the Mayor, stated that an alternative event would be announced. The alternate event was announced as being a television presentation on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, which would feature "highlights" of the past year Due to '' Tier 4'' restrictions in London and the majority of England, all gatherings were prohibited and everyone was legally obliged to remain in their homes unless they had a "reasonable excuse". The event was ultimately a fireworks, light, and drone show featuring various locations in London, including

The Shard The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter dev ...

The O2 The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely withi ...

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

, and

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. The show featured tributes to

Captain Tom Captain Sir Thomas Moore (30 April 1920 – 2 February 2021), more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser who made international headlines in 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th b ...

's charity walk, the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

(NHS), remote

teleconferencing A teleconference is the live exchange of information among several people remote from one another but linked by a telecommunications system. Terms such as audio conferencing, telephone conferencing and phone conferencing are also sometimes used t ...

, and the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

movement. The finale of the show included an environmental appeal narrated by David Attenborough, while the city also promoted the event as being London's most "environmentally-friendly" New Year's Eve event.

2021–22

In October 2021, Mayor Khan announced that the city would return to hosting an in-person New Year's Eve event for 2022, but that it would be an unspecified event at Trafalgar Square rather than fireworks. Khan cited COVID-19 "uncertainties" as a factor in the decision; a city spokesperson stated that London could not organise the fireworks due to the amount of advance preparation they require, being unable to anticipate what restrictions on events and gatherings (if any) would be in effect by New Year's Eve, and the costs that would be sustained by the city and taxpayers if the event had to be cancelled. Health Secretary

Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

criticised the decision in an interview with LBC, stating that the fireworks helped to provide publicity to the city, and that, "I think there’s a perfectly safe way that it can take place, so I really don’t understand that decision. But that’s not a decision for the Government. It’s the Mayor's firework display, so I hope he can reconsider it." Details surrounding the ticketed event were revealed in November, including plans for food and live entertainment in

, and a "live broadcast spectacular" on

which would be simulcast on screens in the Square. However on 20 December 2021, Khan announced that the public event had been cancelled due to the threat of

Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...

, and a second crowdless fireworks show was held. The show used locations such as

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

, the

Millennium Bridge Several bridges are known as the Millennium Bridge: * in the United Kingdom **Gateshead Millennium Bridge ** Lune Millennium Bridge, Lancaster ** Millennium Bridge, Glasgow ** Millennium Bridge, London ** Millennium Bridge (Salford Quays) ** Teesqua ...

(where

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delivered a poem by Tomfoolery), and

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

(where the West End Musical Choir performed songs in a tribute to the theatre industry), and featured the "biggest ever

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

display in the UK".

2022–23

On 14 October 2022, Mayor Khan announced that the New Year's Eve fireworks will return to being a public event at the London Eye for the first time in three years, promoting plans for them to be "the best ever". He hinted that the display would feature "three massive surprises" The theme for the display was "With Love from London" and featured drones at

Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat. H ...

for the countdown and sections of the display. The display featured moments from England's Women's Euro 2022 victory, London standing with Ukraine as a result of the Russian invasion of the country, celebrating 50 years of

Pride in London Pride in London is an annual LGBT pride festival and parade held each summer in London, England. The event, which was formerly run by Pride London, is sometimes referred to as London Pride. Pride in London celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ ...

and commemorated Queen Elizabeth II who died in 2022 and the Coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

Broadcast

The fireworks are primarily broadcast by

as part of their annual New Year's Eve programme. The BBC also streams the event internationally on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

; the 2018-2019 show was filmed and streamed in

360-degree video 360-degree videos, also known as surround video, or immersive videos or spherical videos, are video recordings where a view in every direction is recorded at the same time, shot using an omnidirectional camera or a collection of cameras. During pl ...

. The fireworks are broadcast by other networks as well, including

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

(which presents them during the special bulletin '' ITV News Including New Year Bongs'') and Sky News.

References

{{New Year New Year celebrations Culture in London Observances in the United Kingdom Annual events in London