London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Brits welcome 2023 with spectacular New Year’s fireworks displays

Brits welcome 2023 with spectacular New Year’s fireworks displays

As midnight struck, Britain welcomed 2023 with dazzling fireworks, light and drone displays for the first time in years.

In London, fireworks sparkled off the Thames and over Big Ben and the London Eye in a sight Londoners hadn’t seen in two years after the show was cancelled due to Covid-19.

Big Ben bonged in the capital city as some 100,000 people gathered along the Thames Embankment to catch a glimpse of the 12,000 fireworks.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told Sky News said that from the good to the bad, the festivities would capture all that the last year had to offer.

And it did just that. The London Eye was transformed with the colours of the Ukrainian flag as London showed its solidarity with the war-torn country.

A glistening array of colours also shimmered over the river as the city celebrated 50 years of LGBTQ+ Pride.


Fireworks explode around the London Eye

A glistening array of colours also shimmered over the river as the city celebrated 50 years of LGBTQ+ Pride

There was also a tribute to Her Late Majesty

People record a drone depiction of Queen Elizabeth II

The display also honoured King Charles III

Fireworks light up the London skyline over Big Ben and the London Eye

More than 12,000 fireworks etched the skyline in what Sadiq Khan said was the ‘biggest fireworks display in Europe’

Some partygoers queued from 6pm

Dozens of drones soared across the skyline to form a crown in a touching tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, featuring a voice recording from her and words from Dame Judi Dench.

The voice of King Charles III called on people to do more to preserve the planet as climate catastrophe before the show ended in the colours of the Union Jack.

Partygoers all but shrugged off the Met Office’s yellow warnings for rain in England’s southwest and southern Wales.

Some umbrella-clutching revellers were seen outside Embankment as early as 6pm with snaking queues spotted by 9pm.

‘These are the biggest fireworks in Europe,’ Sadiq said.

‘I think they’re the best fireworks in the world – they’re the best we’ve had in London, the biggest we’ve had in London.’
Some dedicated revellers gathered to watch the famous fireworks from 6pm

Thousands began to spill out onto buses and trains following the fireworks


He had hinted at ‘three massive surprises’ to come in the display that would act as a ‘reflection on the last year’.

‘It’s a really important way to bring in the new year,’ Khan said.

‘It will be a message from London of love sent to our friends across Europe and around the world.

‘It’s really important that we have a full recovery after the awful two, three years we’ve had because of the pandemic.’

Up and down the UK, countless people rang in 2023.

In Allendale, England, locals lugged barrels of burning tar on their beads as part of a tradition stretching back to 1858.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hailed the ‘first full Hogmanay celebrations in three years’ as new year celebrations were in full swing in Edinburgh – all to the tune of the Pet Shop Boys, of course.

Scots braved single-digit temperatures to watch the fireworks in Edinburgh

‘Tar Barrel Men’ paraded through the streets of Allendale carrying torches and flaming barrels in the annual Allendale Tar Barrel festival

A walrus’ unexpected appearance in Scarborough led to the town’s new years festivities being scrapped


‘Thinking back to Hogmanay last year and indeed the year before that, we’re reminded of just how far we have come from the very darkest days of the pandemic,’ she tweeted.

While in Cardiff, Wales, people partied in the city’s Winter Wonderland and those in Belfast marked 2023 at Europa Hotel’s annual Gala Ball.

Though, not everyone managed to get out and see the New Year’s fireworks.

In the North Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough, a walrus spotted earlier this month led to the council cancelling the display in case it ‘distressed’ the mammal.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
×