Hordes of hardy Brits braved the elements to celebrate New Year’s Eve in style – despite torrential rain and 75mph winds which cancelled events up and down the country.
Many planned December 31 events were cancelled as weather warnings for wind and rain were put in place – including the huge annual Hogmanay celebration in Edinburgh.
Fireworks displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, Ripon in North Yorkshire, and the Isle of Wight were axed.
The annual fireworks display in London did go ahead, as thousands of spectators lined the embankment to watch the spectacle 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.
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.
Elsewhere across the country, Brits were unfazed by the weather and were able to enjoy a boozy night out as they welcomed in the start of 2025.
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.
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.
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 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 on New Year’s Day 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 on New Year’s Eve 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’.
The wind and rain continued through the night and into the morning, causing travel disruption in parts of the UK through the early hours of 2025.
North-West England was bearing the brunt of the rain on Wednesday morning, although Met Office weather warnings were in place across large parts of England, Wales and Scotland on New Year’s Day.
An amber alert was in place for North-West England until 9am with the Met Office saying heavy rain had fallen across the region for several hours.
The forecaster said it was expected to affect parts of Cheshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire for a few hours.
The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District.
It states that heavy rainfall is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service said it had been experiencing a high number of 999 calls due to flooding.
TransPennine Express urged customers on its services not to travel before noon on Wednesday, saying flooding was causing “significant issues” in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
The line was closed between Manchester Piccadilly and Warrington Central with disruption expected until the end of the day, according to National Rail.
Trains will not operate between Manchester Airport and the city’s stations on Wednesday, as well as routes between Manchester to Liverpool Lime Street and from both Liverpool and Manchester to Huddersfield, Leeds and York.
Flooding is also blocking the line between Todmorden and Rochdale with disruption expected until noon with further predicted flooding affecting services calling at Rotherham Central.
National Highways said the westbound M56 between Junction 6 for Manchester Airport and Junction 7 for Bowdon was expected to be closed “for some time” due to flooding across all three lanes.
A section of the A628 Woodhead Pass between Woolley Bridge and Flouch was closed in both directions, while flooding was also affecting the M6 between Junctions 18 and 20.
Other parts of the country were also seeing disruption with the M48 Severn Bridge closed in both directions due to high winds, while the A15 Humber Bridge was closed again to high-sided vehicles after reopening overnight.
In Wales, Network Rail said the Conwy Valley Line between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno Junction would be closed throughout New Year’s Day due to fallen trees on the line and an assessment of the embankment.
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.
Rain turning to snow on New Year’s Day is likely to cause travel disruption, particularly on roads and railways across Grampian, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, and the Highlands & Eilean Siar, the Met Office said.
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.
In the Highlands, flooding forced the closure of the A9 at Tomich.
The Far North Line was also shut down temporarily, while rail services between Dingwall and Inverness were halted due to flooding.
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.