New Year’s celebrated across world as countdown begins to London fireworks despite bad weather: live
Millions of Britons fear New Year’s Eve washout as storms heading south look set to wreak havoc on festivities – but not in the capital, confirms Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan
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Your support makes all the difference.New Year’s is being celebrated across world – including in London, where the fireworks are set to go ahead despite bad weather forcing the cancellations of events across the UK.
Millions of Britons fear a New Year’s Eve washout as storms heading south look set to wreak havoc, with weather warnings issued for nearly every part of the country.
Heavy rain, snowstorms, 70 mph gales and even landslides are causing travel disruption, flooding and celebration cancellations, with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay outdoor events already scrapped.
However, while London’s City Hall has said it is “closely monitoring” the weather, Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has confirmed the capital’s fireworks display will go ahead. Despite the 41mph gusts forecast, thousands are expected to flock to Big Ben and millions more to watch the live broadcast from around the world.
Network Rail Scotland said they were dealing with 15 flooding incidents on the Far North Line and a landslip near Brora on 31 December, while rising river levels have led to closures of the Dalguise viaduct lines and the Highland Main Line remains closed in Kingussie.
“Do not travel” warnings have been issued as rivers are feared to burst their banks in other areas of Scotland.
Three days of weather warnings are in place across the country, with heavy rain set to turn to blusters of snow showers on Wednesday, which is forecast to continue through the night in Scotland.
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What weather warnings have been issued by Met Office over New Year period
The Met Office has issued numerous weather warnings across the UK, with almost every region affected between Monday and Wednesday.
- Yellow warnings for wind have been issued for parts of central and southern Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, with gusts expected to reach up to 70mph.
- 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.
- The new year will be off to a turbulent start with weather warnings in place for wind, rain and snow on 1 January. 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.
London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks event to go ahead amid weather concerns
London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks event will go ahead at midnight despite weather concerns across the UK, Sir Sadiq Khan confirmed.
With weather warnings in place, many planned 31 December events have been cancelled, but the capital’s fireworks display will proceed as scheduled to mark the start of 2025.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq said: “I’m really excited about the London New Year’s Eve fireworks, the biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe.
“Hundreds of thousands of fireworks, great light display but also a great soundtrack tonight as well.”
Rome’s traditional New Year’s Eve festivities brings start of Pope Francis’ Holy Year
Rome's traditional New Year's Eve festivities have an additional draw: the start of Pope Francis' Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration projected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
On Tuesday, Francis has celebrated a vespers at St Peter's Basilica.
Mass on Wednesday will follow, when he is expected to again appeal for peace amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
New Year’s Day, 1 January, is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary.
The New Year Honours list 2025 in full
The release of the New Year Honours provides an opportunity to celebrate individual outstanding achievements and contributions to British society.
This year Actor Stephen Fry, former England manager Gareth Southgate and London mayor Sadiq Khan have been knighted in list.
Honours have gone to a host of Team GB athletes, including runner Keely Hodgkinson, who was named the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and mountain biker Tom Pidcock, after the Paris Olympics.
There are also honours for those who campaigned on behalf of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters, after the Horizon IT scandal.
Here we take a look at the full list:
The New Year Honours list 2025 in full: Every person celebrated this year
From OBEs to Knight Commander
Revellers arrive at Times Square in New York ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations
New Year’s Eve supermarket opening times
Whether you’re on the hunt for last-minute essentials or looking to stock up on extra supplies to see you through to the New Year, a trip to the supermarket is inevitable over the festive period.
This year the likes of Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Waitrose, Tesco and Morrisons have stocked up on some great New Year’s grub for everyone to enjoy.
But, with many shops planning to close their doors at various times in the coming days, knowing where to pick up some extra food or beverages can be confusing.
So, to help make things a little easier for you, we’ve compiled a handy list of the major supermarket’s opening and closing times over the festive period:
When are shops open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day 2024?
All of the UK’s major supermarket chains will be operating with different opening times during the festive period
In pictures: New Year’s celebrated across world
New Year’s Eve fireworks in London still set to go ahead despite bad weather
The New Year’s Eve fireworks in London are still set to go ahead despite the bad weather.
A London mayor spokesperon confirmed to the BBC on Tuesday evening that the millions watching at the event and around the world are still set for “a spectacular night of fireworks from the banks of the Thames to welcome in the new year”.
In pictures: Edinburgh after all Hogmanay outdoor events were cancelled due to bad weather
Rain warning and temperatures set to plunge as Ireland celebrates new year
A status yellow rain warning is in place for Cork and Kerry and Met Eireann has predicted a drop in temperature as the country celebrates the new year.
The forecaster has warned that 2025 will bring a cold snap, with temperatures expected to plunge as low as -4C by Thursday.
Cork and Kerry will remain under a status yellow rain warning, which will continue until 6am on Wednesday.
Persistent rain is expected to cause localised flooding and hazardous travelling conditions.
On New Year’s Day, the rain is expected to gradually clear to the south-east.
The forecaster said that brighter conditions and scattered showers will follow from the north-west for the afternoon.
Met Eireann meteorologist Mark Bowe said: “The low moving over on Tuesday will bring significant winds to the north-west but rain will be widespread and rather heavy at times too which could lead to spot flooding.”
The forecaster went on to explain that the weather on Wednesday will prove to be a lot more significant with more rain and very strong and blustery winds for all areas.
Mr Bowe continued: “We are currently tracking the development of the low pressure system expected for Wednesday with potentially some very impactful winds across western and southern areas.”
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