How cool that I came to London for New Year’s Eve, where the fireworks show at midnight was amazing! Except that I actually saw it on January 1st, on the internet hahaha.
I chose London again for these New Year’s days, just like I did in December 2018, because it’s such a VIBRANT city during the holidays! So to speak, “I don’t feel lonely”, I don’t get bored, because almost everything is open here – from theatres, museums, shops and restaurants to markets and pubs.
And look at me, just like that, I even buy myself a ticket to a musical for December 31st!
I saw The Producers – super funny, you know, like an end-of-year thing… not funny at all 🙂
The venue? Full!
My God, what a great feeling it was to see dozens of people coming out of the West End theatres on December 31st! After the matinee shows, but also after the evening ones finishing at 10 p.m. Then the restaurants and pubs full! But not full like back home, with people coming for a New Year’s Eve program, but crowded like on any other evening, with people dressed casually, relaxed, as if the New Year wasn’t coming in just 2 hours. “Who cares”, some of them must have thought. Others, though, were gearing up for the night ahead.
NEW YEAR’S EVE IN LONDON
It’s not really about concerts here, but it is about fireworks. With the already famous fireworks show at the London Eye – the one that later appears on news programs all over the world.
BUT did you know that you can’t watch the London fireworks show for free?? (Well, unless you’re staying in a nearby hotel or apartment.)
I found this out on December 31st, 2018, when, although I was staying in a hotel close to the Thames, near the London Eye area, I discovered that access was restricted many hours before midnight.
Want to see the fireworks from the London Eye? You take money out of your pocket so you can get onto certain streets and certain nearby bridges. The decision was made by the authorities in 2014 in order to have clear control over the crowds. You never know with crazy people around…
This year, “wiser” after the experience from 7 years ago, I went onto the official website a few weeks before New Year’s Eve and I still found tickets available. A ticket for non-residents cost £40–55 + a booking fee of about £2.50 (residents benefited from better prices: £20–35). The price varied depending on the “viewing” zone.
Basically, they closed everything around the London Eye and allowed access from 8 p.m. into certain zones, which they coloured to make them easier to understand, each with its own entry point.
I live very close to the blue zone but, guess what, that exact zone was sold out. The red zone would also have worked for me – but only if I had gone there from 8 p.m. to get a good spot. Don’t think I’m crazy enough to freeze for 4 hours just to watch 10-12 minutes of fireworks, because that’s how long I’d read they last.
There were still tickets available in other zones, but the whole thing was getting too complicated. So, in the end, we synchronized perfectly: I decided not to buy, and they sold everything they still had.
Never mind, I’ll just head right into the heart of the city, I said to myself, to Trafalgar Square, because there they let people gather freely and pack in like sardines. Said and done!
NEW YEAR’S EVE NIGHT IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE
I start getting ready for the New Year’s countdown by buying a tiny bottle of sparkling wine from the supermarket. £4. Only I would buy something like that, everyone else is filling their baskets with big bottles of champagne and all kinds of wines.
Anyway, I leave the little bottle at the hotel so it won’t get confiscated by the security forces in the square. I bet it’ll be full of security checks – like the New Year’s Eves I spent in Paris, where they searched you everywhere but up your butt for alcohol or whatever…
I put on my heavy winter clothes and, in 5 minutes, together with waves of people of all nationalities, I reach Trafalgar Square. Shock: not a single checkpoint! Instead, there are police everywhere and several helicopters above us.
And lots of surveillance cameras that I think could probably see even our wisdom teeth.
The whole central area of Trafalgar Square is empty, because they’ve put up barriers to keep us away from the fountains, the lions, the column with Admiral Nelson, the stairs and… damn, where are we supposed to stand??
I squeeze myself, a bit boldly, next to a barrier, among people who clearly arrived long before me – judging either by their blood alcohol level reflected in how they talk, or by how much food they still have left in their containers.
There are thousands of us in the Square and we’re all staring like fools… through the gaps between buildings. Because that’s the only way we’ll be able to catch even a glimpse of the fireworks from the London Eye. Cool, right?
Well, I also keep an eye on Big Ben so I don’t miss midnight. It’s about a kilometre away, so I rely on my phone to show the time properly.
Next to me are lots of Spaniards, a few Japanese, some parents with kids, loud English girls, couples hugging, a drugged guy trying to start conversations with several people but failing and moving on to others.
It’s freeeeeezing!
Above us, the helicopters keep doing their “safety and reassurance” flights.
Unlike the Champs-Élysées in Paris, here I see extremely few people with New Year’s Eve accessories. No funny glasses, party hats or themed crowns. Maybe we’ve all gathered here – the saddest people on the planet 🙂
I keep checking the time every minute. At 11:59 pm I start recording Big Ben, as it looks from this great distance. My hands are freezing on the phone, but I don’t give up.
How many seconds are left?? Nobody knows.
Suddenly, a roar sweeps through the crowd and spreads like waves. By the time it reaches us, we hear people shouting “three!” so we quickly start saying “two, one” and… HAPPY NEW YEAR 2026!!!
No music, no MC, just Big Ben and our shouts. And the fireworks start to appear between the buildings.
The experience is funny: we see bits and fragments of the fireworks and when some go higher and we catch a bit more of them, we cheer like little kids.
Suddenly, something booms behind us and the whole square turns 180 degrees! A firework has gone off near the National Gallery – and that one we can actually see, haha. We have no idea what it is, probably illegal, but we adore it for a while and then go back to our “suffering” 🙂
Well, I don’t want to be unfair. In the end, I really am glad I got out of bed and came to the Square. For the atmosphere, for the energy you feel when the year changes, for the mix of nationalities all celebrating in their own way. It’s cute!
In exactly 12 minutes, all the fireworks are over. The final bursts, in rapid succession, draw huge cheers. And then… the flood! Thousands of people scatter in every direction. From the speakers, like a Chinese water torture, we hear the voice of a man explaining that the nearest tube station is going to be absolute chaos, so we’re advised to walk to others instead. And if anyone wants to cross the river via the bridges – forget it, access is still closed.
I’m lucky, I live nearby. I walk slowly, at the same pace as the crowd. The streets are full of cheerful people.
Once I get to my room, I take a sip from my little bottle, to toast the new year, then another sip to drown my sorrows for what didn’t go well in 2025, then another one for big hopes for 2026, then another so the first three don’t feel lonely, then another &gs@ljh$cnw*eo!>uv~jsbdk 🙂
Happy New Year!!!
Here you can read about my New Year’s Eve 2025 adventure in Paris, and here about the one just before the pandemic – also in Paris. And here’s how the pandemic New Year’s Eve went in Venice.
