New Year’s Eve celebrations have got underway across the United Kingdom as millions up and down the country prepare to welcome in a new decade.
In London, Mayor Sadiq Khan has promised the ‘best fireworks the city has ever seen’ to ring in the new year.
Meanwhile, Hogmanay celebrations have begun in Edinburgh, as crowds gather for the city’s annual street party, with around 100,000 visitors expected to attend the event.
Large fireworks shows will also take place in cities including Manchester, Cardiff, Newcastle, Inverness and Nottingham as excited revellers prepare to say goodbye to 2019 and celebrate the arrival of 2020.
Fireworks are let off from Edinburgh Castle as part of the Hogmanay New Year celebrations. Around 100,000 visitors expected to attend the event
Fireworks light up the night sky above Newcastle City Centre as New Year’s Eve celebrations start to welcome in 2020
Alexandre Levy, Johann Lemarquand, Rachel Ferrier and Benoit Jaouen, from Cherbourg, France, (left to right) on Princes Street during the Hogmanay New Year celebrations in Edinburgh
A couple kiss as they prepare to welcome in a new decade at the Edinburgh Hogmany New Year’s celebrations
French immersive performers Compagnie Remue Menage entertain the crowds at the street party in Edinburgh during the Hogmanay New Year celebrations
Security guards check revellers as they arrive to celebrate New Year in central London. The city’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has promised the ‘best fireworks London has ever seen’ to ring in the new year
Mr Khan said the capital will ‘project confidence’ on the world stage through an impressive display at the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Speaking in the city centre ahead of the celebrations on Tuesday night, Mr Khan said: ‘Hand on heart, these are going to be the best fireworks London has ever seen.’
He added the ‘world’ will be watching the display and he hoped it would show London was a ‘global city’.
He said: ‘Fairly or unfairly, people around the world saw the Brexit referendum vote as the UK somehow turning its back on the rest of the world, including Europe.
‘The fear was, we would become insular, inward-looking, and what I’m keen to show is the opposite.
‘Yes we may be leaving the EU, but very much as a city we are still a European global city. We will continue to be open to people’s trade and ideas.
‘What tonight’s fireworks are about is demonstrating our confidence.
‘And it’s really important that we show the world who will be watching our fireworks that we are a confident, global, outward-looking European city.’
The theme of this year’s display will look ahead to the capital hosting several key games in the Euro 2020 football tournament.
Police officers congregate as they prepare for New Year celebrations in central London. Tickets for celebrations in the city sold out after more than 100,000 tickets were snapped up
Gareth Jones and partner Rebecca Haynes, from County Durham, share a kiss at the street party on Princes Street during the Hogmanay New Year celebrations in Edinburgh
Big Ben’s chimes will sound the start of the display despite them being silent this year while renovation work is completed (pictured, security check revellers as they arrive to celebrate New Year in central London)
John Morgan and Jess Parr, from Nottingham, at the street party on Princes Street during the Hogmanay New Year celebrations in Edinburgh
Hogmanay celebrations began in Edinburgh, as crowds gathered for the city’s annual street party, with around 100,000 visitors expected to attend the event.
Members of the public on Princes Street during the Hogmanay New Year celebrations in Edinburgh
The Custom House in Dublin’s city centre is lit up during the Liffey Lights Moment – Matinee as part of the city’s New Year’s eve celebrations
The pyrotechnics show will feature more than 12,000 fireworks, with the display being set to a soundtrack ‘inspired by London and Europe’, according to a spokeswoman for the mayor.
Big Ben’s chimes will sound the start of the display despite them being silent this year while renovation work is completed.
The event has sold out after more than 100,000 tickets were snapped up, and travel on Transport for London (TfL) services will be free between 11.45pm on New Year’s Eve and 4.30am on New Year’s Day.
‘We’ll be celebrating the fact that next year we will be having the Euros 2020 finals in London, and the semi-finals, and actually, seven games in total,’ Mr Khan added.
‘There will be a football theme, with the music, you will recognise a couple of tracks, but also a London theme with the music, from Stormzy to Wiley to Bastille.’