New Year's Eve in London

London's New Year's Eve
Fireworks over London Eye as part of the New Year's 2013-2014 multi-sensory display
Genre	New Year's Eve event
Date(s)	31 December
Begins	20:30 (GMT)
Ends	00:30 (GMT)
Frequency	Annually
Location(s)	Victoria Embankment, South Bank and River Thames
Inaugurated	2000
Attendance	107,000 (2015–2016)
Budget	£313,000

New Year's Eve in London, a New Year's Eve firework display, is celebrated along the Victoria Embankment and South Bank areas of the River Thames where the London Eye and Big Ben are situated. The countdown is accompanied by the chimes of Big Ben, and a digital countdown timer projected onto the Shell Centre. The fireworks are launched off the London Eye at midnight.

The first major New Year's Eve fireworks display in London was to celebrate the year 2000. It was estimated by the BBC that about 3 million people turned up around the Thames to watch the fireworks display. A "river of fire" was planned to accompany the fireworks display, but failed to make an impact. A fireworks display was planned during 2000 to celebrate 2001, but was cancelled in November due to a dispute between then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and the London Underground. The same dispute also occurred for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 celebrations, although approximately 80,000 revellers gathered around Trafalgar Square to celebrate the New Year.

After a hiatus of no fireworks on New Year's Eve, for the 2003–04 event, there were fireworks though only for three minutes. For the 2004–05 event, in the run-up to midnight, an image of candles was projected onto the Shell Centre as a tribute to the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Also, at midnight, fireworks were launched from the wheel itself for the first time.

For the 2011–12 extravaganza, fireworks were fired in a one-off event from Elizabeth Tower, launching from the top of the building outwards above the many spectators and well wishers below, welcoming in the year in which London went on to host the Olympic Games. Fireworks were launched in the shape and colour of the Olympic flag, in a display that lasted approximately eleven minutes compared to being reduced to eight minutes in 2010.