New Year’s Eve: London fireworks go ahead despite weather concerns as UK events elsewhere cancelled – live
UK sees in 2025 with spectacular London fireworks display as weather chaos cancels events elsewhere
The UK has greeted 2025 on a night when weather disrupted planned celebrations across Scotland and northern England, while crowds in London gathered for a firework display that went ahead despite the conditions.
Crowds had gathered in central London for the traditional display that centres around the London Eye on the River Thames.
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, announcing that the event would go ahead as planned, said: “I’m really excited about the London New Year’s Eve fireworks, the biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe. Hundreds of thousands of fireworks, great light display but also a great soundtrack tonight as well.”
An amber warning for heavy rain was been put in place across parts of north-west England until 9am on New Year’s Day, PA Media reporter.
The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District. The warning states that heavy rain is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
Some celebrations in Edinburgh had already been disrupted after a decision on Monday to cancel outdoor event due to the risk of weather conditions.
In a message ahead of the new year, UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, compared the task his government faces with that the Attlee government faced in 1945, and said there would be “a year of rebuilding”.
Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch told voters to “Watch this space” as she said the Conservative party faced “a long term project” of renewal and that “Things may be bumpy along the way.”
Key events
Here is Paddington in the London Eye, with what must be an especially large marmalade sandwich under his hat:
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has posted his New Year’s message and a video of the fireworks, which says, “Greatest city in the world. Greatest fireworks in the world. Happy New Year, London!”:
Here are more photographs from the procession:
While elsewhere in the country, people took part in the 101st traditional “Achetringele” procession in Laupen. This photograph shows Young “Baesemanne” (broom men), who hold long-handled juniper brooms and wear wooden masks and air-filled pig bladders called “Soeiblaatere”:
The festive procession, which starts from Laupen Castle, uses the pig bladders, as well as bells, brooms, and the masks to drive away demons and evil spirits.
The leader of the procession announces New Year’s wishes, followed by a chase with the inflated Soeiblaatere. Originating a century ago, the parade features masks crafted in 1924, and its roots may date back to the Germanic Julfest.
“Achetringele” means ‘ring down,’ symbolizing the banishment of the old year.
In Switzerland, some brave souls farewelled 2024 with a swim in icy waters:
Fireworks over the London Eye:
Here is another view of the fireworks over the Arc de Triomphe in Paris:
Hello from the other side of the world and 11 hours into the future.
It is 11.21 here in Sydney, sunny, and most of my colleagues on the international desk have already had a swim: 2025 is looking good so far.
And with that I am handing over to my colleague Helen Sullivan on the other side of the world in Australia. It just leaves me to point out that my co-pilot Willow this evening has not been the most enthusiastic contributor to the live blog – and has basically slept through the whole thing, local fireworks and all. Which is probably a blessing.
Please let me take this opportunity, on behalf of everybody at the Guardian and the Observer in the UK, to wish you a very happy new year, and one that is as peaceful as it can be. I will see you on the website somewhere again soon.
Paddington Bear, voiced by Ben Whishaw, has wished everybody a happy new year at the London fireworks – the character seems ubiquitous at public events in the UK now – then there was a short burst of Auld Lang Syne, and we are done!
Part of the fireworks display in London has celebrated that it is 25 years since the London Eye itself was formally opened by the-then prime minister Tony Blair on 31 December 1999.
It was originally only given permission to be there for five years as a temporary attraction, but it is very difficult to imagine the central London skyline without it now.
There is always a tiny bit of lag on the images of the London fireworks display arriving to us over the newswires, but we just got the first one, and it is a keeper.
Fireworks light up the sky over Elizabeth Tower in Westminster. Photograph: James Manning/PA
The London firework display has so far paid tribute to Team GB achievements in the Paris Olympics, and England’s men’s football team’s near-miss at Euro 2024. There was a section dedicated to Charli xcx’s signature brat green, and a rather more sombre reminder that it was the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings in 2024.
Big Ben is chiming …
UK sees in 2025 with spectacular London fireworks display as weather chaos cancels events elsewhere
The UK has greeted 2025 on a night when weather disrupted planned celebrations across Scotland and northern England, while crowds in London gathered for a firework display that went ahead despite the conditions.
Crowds had gathered in central London for the traditional display that centres around the London Eye on the River Thames.
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, announcing that the event would go ahead as planned, said: “I’m really excited about the London New Year’s Eve fireworks, the biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe. Hundreds of thousands of fireworks, great light display but also a great soundtrack tonight as well.”
An amber warning for heavy rain was been put in place across parts of north-west England until 9am on New Year’s Day, PA Media reporter.
The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District. The warning states that heavy rain is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
Some celebrations in Edinburgh had already been disrupted after a decision on Monday to cancel outdoor event due to the risk of weather conditions.
In a message ahead of the new year, UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, compared the task his government faces with that the Attlee government faced in 1945, and said there would be “a year of rebuilding”.
Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch told voters to “Watch this space” as she said the Conservative party faced “a long term project” of renewal and that “Things may be bumpy along the way.”
Television coverage in the UK is switching to the fireworks in London …
My colleagues in Australia have put together this gallery of great images from the new year celebrations there – where the weather looks significantly better than in the UK.
By the way, if you think I am freewheeling a bit on the live blog here, Sophie Ellis-Bexter has just introduced on stage on BBC One a giant full-sized resin horse replica face-painted as David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane character, which she claimed she bought online during lockdown. I feel safe that I will not be doing anything as weird as that.
As we build up to midnight in the UK, here are some more striking photographs of new year celebrations from different countries around the world.
