NEW YEAR’S EVE LONDON 2019

WHAT: NEW YEAR’S EVE LONDON 2019
WHY: NEW YEARS EVE CELEBRATIONS
WHEN: MONDAY 31ST DECEMBER 2018
WHERE: CENTRAL LONDON
COST: £10.00

In 2014 a decision was taken to start charging for entry (thanks very much Boris!) to see the fireworks display and this stance remains unpopular with London tax payers. The main complaint to this day is that although the residents of the area fund the venture, they receive absolutely no concessions or preferential treatment when it to the allocation of tickets and moreover they still have to contend with the massive 100,000 attendees and the chaos a large number of revellers will undoubtedly cause, irrespective of the policing and stewarding of such an event.

Ticket prices are £10 per person with a strict limit of four per order; not good if there are five in your family who wish to attend (looks like granny is staying at home again!).

Although the organisers will allow small bags into the viewing area, they would prefer you not to take a bag at all where possible to alleviate some of the pressure on the security teams. Furthermore, all bags will be searched causing delays in entry to the enclosure and any item the security staff deem dangerous could result in your party been refused entry. The restrictions include any form of glass including flasks, sharp objects, back packs and suitcases will be excluded along with buggies - the organisers state on their website the event is not suitable for children; so you won’t need these anyway.

Alcohol will be on sale and you will be allowed to take your own but be careful, the stewards and security team will assess whether the amount you are carrying is deemed for personal use to prevent re-sale inside the barriers; again if you break the rules you will risk being refused entry. Anyone whom the officials feel has imbibed a little too enthusiastically, again these people will be excluded as will anyone using a drone.

Take photo ID along with you as security staff will check the name on the ticket matches the ID supplied, this is to prevent ticket touts selling tickets at overinflated prices as the council prefer to keep the monopoly on this one.

Be prepared to wait as the information for most areas advise spectators to arrive between 8 and 10:30pm although the information also goes on to say “Please allow plenty of time to get to your viewing area. Please aim to arrive before 9pm and bring only a small bag for essential items or preferably NO bag at all.”

As there are no options to leave and later return to the enclosure ensure you have everything you will require for the duration we would suggest among the obvious warm clothing, food and drink (in small quantities), spare batteries for camera etc, a ground sheet as there is no seating in any of the areas except the designated areas for less able spectators, also be aware there are no covered areas in case of rain and an umbrella which has a sharp end could be confiscated so poncho’s at the ready.

Toilets will be supplied but queues can be quite lengthy at times, so think about timing, you wouldn’t want to wait four hours then miss the main event standing in queue.

There are many viewing areas available and travel to these is best by tube as there will be vehicle movement restrictions with many road closures in place, as you can envisage getting 100,000 spectators to and from a specific area has its own potential problems so plan well ahead especially the journey home after the show.

The best stations to use are:

Blue 1 use Victoria Station

Blue 2 use Green Park Station

Pink 3 Holborn Station

Red 4 also Holborn Station

Red 5 Black Friars Station

Pink 6 Waterloo

Green 7 Southwark

White 8 Westminster

The accessible viewing area is also Waterloo.

Traditionally the countdown to the New Year is to the chimes of Big Ben. However, there is some speculation as the hands of the clock were removed in April as part of the ongoing repair and restoration of the clock and Elizabeth Tower and are not expected to be replaced until repairs conclude in 2021. So, who knows what will happen! We suspect a recording will be substituted to go along with possibly a digital projection.

Personally, I will be watching the repeat on the BBC a little later in the day as I, like many of our customers will be busy lighting my own offerings to welcome the New Year.

If you are having your own New Year celebrations, why not bring it in with a bang! We have a huge range of single ignition barrages which start from the tiny ones at under a fiver to the huge multi shot compound cakes which are the size of a large suitcase at £249.96. Check em out.