Hardy Brits have ignored gale warnings and torrential downpours to see in the New Year in style – as traditional fireworks lit up Big Ben in spite of storm warnings that forced many displays to be axed.
With weather warnings for wind and rain in place, many planned December 31 events have been cancelled, but the capital’s 12-minute fireworks display proceeded as scheduled to mark the start of 2025.
Thousands stood along the Embankment of the Thames to watch a spectacular fireworks display around the London Eye
The annual showstopper saw around 100,000 ticket holders unite on the banks of the River Thames to witness the capital’s biggest-ever celebration of fireworks, lighting and music, with many millions watching from homes around the globe.
More than 12,000 fireworks and 420 lights lit up the sky around the London Eye as the eyes of the world watched London’s unforgettable show, set to a soundtrack of songs for people to dance the cold away and voice-over clips.
This year millions watching at home on the BBC were also treated to a world-first use of hologauze animations to celebrate the new year, creating holographic illusions of British icons and memorable events as the fireworks were taking place.
‘No matter what happens, London will always be a city of hope and a home for everyone,’ Paddington Bear, voiced by Ben Whishaw, said in a special appearance during the fireworks display.
The fireworks culminated in a golden extravaganza of sparkles illuminating the sky above London, with Paddington ending the show by saying: ‘As you enter the new year, always remember […]: In London, everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in. Happy New Year.’
The wide-ranging soundtrack included hits from Sabrina Carpenter, Natasha Bedingfield, Travis, Sir Elton John, One Direction, Dame Vera Lynn, Panjabi Hit Squad, Tems, and Shaboozey and also featured a reference to Charli XCX’s viral ‘brat summer’ which captured millions of young people on social media in 2024.
Voice clips included D-Day veterans, Dame Imelda Staunton, Sir Ian McKellen, Mawaan Rizwan, Carol Kirkwood, Alex Scott MBE, Ellie Simmonds OBE and Sadiq Khan.
The special animations included the London Eye being filled with the Union flag in honour of the 80th anniversary of D-Day last year, Olympic medals to celebrate the success of Team GB at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, and wishing a happy upcoming 25th birthday to official partner the London Eye.
The fireworks saw a projection of the Union Jack on to the London Eye, as well as red, white and blue sparks.
The iconic celebration, which began with Big Ben’s renowned chimes, is shown live to many millions around the world and tens of millions more on social media, boosting London’s economy and providing an incredible global advert for our tourism industry.
Last year, the BBC’s coverage was the most watched TV programme in the UK, with many millions more watching on the iPlayer and online.
Mayor Sadiq Khan promised that the fireworks would be the ‘best we’ve ever laid on’, adding that they were the ‘biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe’.
‘It’s fantastic to welcome 2025 with our biggest and best-ever New Year’s Eve celebrations,’ Sir Sadiq said.
‘Around 100,000 Londoners and visitors joined together on the banks of the Thames for an unforgettable night of fireworks, lighting and music, while millions at home were able to see our world-first use of hologram animations to celebrate the new year.
New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Day
‘From honouring the heroes of the D-Day landings to Paddington Bear celebrating our capital’s diversity, I’m proud that we sent a message of hope and love to the world, as we build a better London for everyone.’
‘It was absolutely amazing,’ two sisters from West Yorkshire who came to watch the display with their mum told Sky News, adding: ‘The atmosphere was just absolutely amazing.’
Revellers didn’t let the rain and stormy conditions hold them back from celebrating the New Year in style, with many decked to the nines as they were hitting the streets in Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds and more.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer said in his New Year’s message that the UK faces a ‘year of rebuilding’ while also ‘rediscovering the great nation that we are’ in 2025.
The Prime Minister used his first new year’s message since entering Downing Street to reflect on a ‘year of change’ in 2024, although joked this did not extend to football as the England men’s team experienced ‘another agonisingly close shave’ by losing to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
He added his Labour administration has begun the ‘work of change’ since winning the general election in July and pointed to an increase in the minimum wage, clean energy projects and NHS investment as examples.
Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch used her message to discuss her own party’s ‘period of change’, as she warned Conservative supporters that ‘things may be bumpy along the way’. She signed off her new year’s video with a three-word message: ‘Watch this space.’
And Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, urged the Labour Government to ‘show the urgency and ambition that this moment demands because I’m afraid that we haven’t seen anything like the real change from this Government on the scale the British people are yearning for’.
This comes as much of the country faces heavy rain and strong winds, and even snow in some parts, leading to widespread disruption and several cancelled fireworks displays amid fallen trees on roads while landslips and flooding blocked rail lines.
An amber warning for heavy rain has been put in place across parts of North West England until 9am on New Year’s Day. 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 four inches (10cm) of rain.
Yellow warnings for wind have also been issued for parts of central and southern Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, with gusts expected to reach up to 70mph.
Winds of up to 60mph, which are forecast across much of England and Wales all day tomorrow, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.
At least eight fireworks shows have been axed due to the strong winds, including Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh along with events in Blackpool and Newcastle.
With hours to go before the end of 2024, tourists who travelled to Edinburgh in the hope of experiencing the Hogmanay fireworks have described having to quickly find other ways to celebrate the new year.
The street party and fireworks display over Edinburgh Castle were cancelled on Monday afternoon.
Elisa Dorris, who is originally from Spain but now lives in Dublin, flew to Edinburgh with friends in order to see the fireworks. The 23-year-old described having to ask around for suggestions as to what they could do to celebrate the new year.
‘We are very disappointed … but we will try to have fun here in the Christmas market,’ she said. We will try our best to have fun this night.
‘So we have been asking people about what we can do, and they say that they have pubs in Victoria Street, and the people are going to go out, because it’s a lot of people in the same situation.
‘So we think that we are going to do that, stay in the streets, in the pubs.’
David Liew, a 59-year-old lawyer from Singapore who came to Edinburgh for New Year during a three-week holiday in the UK, said he was just going to ‘walk around.’
‘We’ll just walk around, you know, we see a lot of lights, a lot of stores. We’ll just walk around, take some pictures and hopefully make the best use of our time.’
Mr Liew added that he could understand the decision to call off the fireworks, but said they should be put back on now that the weather had turned out better than expected.
‘We are pretty disappointed. We were just informed, I think, this morning, but I think it’s due to the weather. But when I look around now, I think the weather is fine, and I think the celebrations should resume.’
This was echoed by Silvana Sgro, from Melbourne in , who ‘reconfigured’ a three-week holiday in Europe so that she and her children could be in Edinburgh on Hogmanay.
The 54-year-old said: ‘Apparently we get a refund, but it doesn’t change what we do this evening. I am not sure what we’ll be doing at midnight.
‘We booked accommodation that was very central and more expensive so that we could see it all, and now don’t have anything to look at, just looking at each other I guess. This is a lovely evening, but it’s not the same.
‘We did think about going back to London, because apparently the fireworks are on in London, but couldn’t get tickets.’
While the storm has not been named, heavy rain and high winds are already causing disruption in much of the country with blizzards forecast in Scotland.
A yellow warning for snow and rain initially covered most of Scotland until midnight, which the Met Office said ‘may bring significant disruption in the build-up to New Year,’ but it was later revised to cover the Highlands and Moray only, with the warning extended until 4am.
Other cancelled displays tonight include on the Isle of Wight, Bangor and Beaumaris in North Wales, Lowestoft’s Claremont Pier in Suffolk and Ripon in North Yorkshire.
New Year’s Day events are also being called off due to the forecast, including three Pembrokeshire charity swims in Angle, Newport and St Davids; the Lyme Regis annual dip; and the ‘Bathtub Race’, a competition in handmade boats at Poole quay.
The annual classic gathering of sports cars at Brooklands Museum in Surrey has also been axed, along with the Southend RNLI New Year’s Day dip on Jubilee Beach – while the Bushy Park New Year’s Day Parkrun in London was also cancelled.
Elsewhere, Edinburgh Castle was shut for the second day in a row due to the weather, while some recycling centres in Northumberland and County Durham were also shut.
Historic Royal Palaces said Kensington Palace would be closed tomorrow due to high winds, and Hampton Court Palace will have a delayed opening to assess any damage.
Forecasters say the high winds and rain may also cause flooding, particularly in the Midlands and Pennines, with the Environment Agency urging people to stay away from swollen rivers and avoid driving through floodwater.
An amber rain warning is in force in the Highlands and Moray until 5pm this evening and a yellow warning for snow and rain covers most of Scotland until midnight, which ‘may bring significant disruption in the build up to new year’.
A landslide and flooding have closed roads and rail lines in the Highlands.
Forecasters warn of possible blizzard conditions, particularly over high ground in Sutherland and Caithness.
Snow is expected to fall heavily over the Highlands, with 10-20cm accumulating above 150-200 metres.
Separately, members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Avanti West Coast walked out today in a dispute over rest day working – and will again on Thursday.
Forecasters said delays to all types of transport are ‘likely’ today as strong winds persist and may reach speeds of up to 70mph in parts of England and Northern Ireland.
Parts of central and southern Scotland and northern England are covered by a yellow warning for wind from 7am until 11pm, with a separate wind warning covering Northern Ireland from 6am until 2pm.
A 24-hour yellow warning for rain will come into force across much of Wales and North West England at 6pm tonight.
A yellow warning for snow is in place until midnight in Orkney and Shetland.
The Met Office warned ‘blizzard conditions are possible’, especially in the far northern regions of Sutherland and Caithness.
Meanwhile the organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay have issued an apology to international tourists who have travelled to the Scottish capital for the street party and midnight fireworks display.
These were both cancelled yesterday due to the forecast and inability to prepare for the events because of the weather.
An Indian tourist who travelled with his wife and four children to Edinburgh for the celebrations told Good Morning Britain they are ‘very disappointed’. He added: ‘We were in London and we came here just for Hogmanay.’
Another visitor described the decision as ‘heartbreaking’, while his travel companion added: ‘It’s super disappointing. We are trying to figure out something else to do but we are totally clueless.’
Scottish Culture Secretary Angus Robertson defended the ‘undoubtedly’ correct decision to cancel.
He told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The organisers believe that they took the decision quite early for the reason that they wanted to be able to communicate to people who have been travelling now.
‘I would stress whilst it is hugely disappointing that the events as planned in Princes Street, in the old town, over by the castle, the concert by Texas and so on, are not going ahead, there will be lots happening in Edinburgh.
‘There will be all kinds of events, the pubs and clubs will be open. I’m truly sorry for everybody who has travelled but I think given the extent of the weather forecast – it’s really, really bad in some parts of the country – it’s not the right thing to proceed.’
Poor weather saw the main Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh previously cancelled in 2003, and just an hour before the street party was due to begin in 2006.
Elsewhere, the fireworks display in Blackpool has been cancelled because of expected high winds.
An update on the Visit Blackpool website said the rest of the New Year’s Eve family party will still go ahead in the seaside resort, including a projection show on the tower to mark the start of 2025.
Fireworks on Newcastle’s Quayside and Market Square in Ripon have also been cancelled because of the weather.
A homemade boat race set to be held in Poole, Dorset, on New Year’s Day was also cancelled because of the expected poor weather.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council said in a statement: ‘Unfortunately the Bathtub Race is now cancelled due to the severity of the swell of the water forecast for New Year’s Day and the incapability of the Rescue Ribs to launch.
‘The classic car and vintage vehicle event is still going ahead on Poole Quay from 10am-12.30pm.’
Sandown Carnival on the Isle of Wight has also said that it will postpone its fireworks display planned for New Year’s Day because of the ‘predicted wind speeds’ and poor conditions for creating the firework stations on the pier.
The organisers said in a statement: ‘Combined with high tide and likely rough sea conditions, it would not be safe for them to attempt the build. Of course, safety comes first and we regret having to take this decision.’
The Rotary Club of Lyme Regis has also cancelled its Lyme Lunge sea dip on Wednesday because of forecast winds of 50-60mph and it said in a statement: ‘I think you will all agree that we must put the safety of Lungers first.’
Meanwhile in the Highlands, the risk of ‘severe’ flooding has been downgraded by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, however the Met Office continues to warn some communities could be cut off by blizzards.
In the region, flooding closed the A9 at Tomich this morning and a landslide closed the A835 between Fortrose and Avoch.
ScotRail said the railway between Dingwall and Inverness was closed due to ‘heavy’ flooding, impacting services on the Far North Line – where there are more than a dozen floods and a landslip – and the Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness route.
The Met Office said: ‘North and east of (and including) Perthshire, precipitation is likely to fall as snow, especially over high ground, with 10-20cm accumulating above 150-200 metres, with several centimetres accumulating at lower elevations away from windward coasts.
‘As milder air pushes in, snow will turn back to rain, and any rapid snow melt will contribute to flooding in places.
‘Strong winds may exacerbate impacts, particularly across the areas of Scotland affected by snow. Blizzard conditions are possible, especially over high ground and across much of Sutherland and Caithness.
‘Powerline icing is possible where blizzard conditions occur.’
The Forth Road Bridge was open to cars only this morning, while the snow gates are closed on the A939 between Tomintoul and Cock Bridge.
CalMac Ferries said several services on the west coast of Scotland had been cancelled with others subject to disruption.
Further south, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said all today’s sailings between Heysham and Douglas had been cancelled.
The A66 in Cumbria and North Yorkshire was closed in both directions this morning to high-sided vehicles.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: ‘It will be a tricky couple of days and a wet and windy spell for many up into the new year.
‘We’re encouraging anyone who is planning to travel to keep up to date with the weather forecast and news from their local authorities.’
The new year will be off to a turbulent start with separate weather warnings in place for wind and rain on January 1.
Winds of up to 60mph are forecast across much of England and Wales all day on Wednesday, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.
There is not a named storm as it stands – but the next one in the 2024/25 season will be Storm Éowyn, following on from Ashley on October 20, Bert on November 22, Conall on November 27 and Darragh on December 6.