New Year's Eve fireworks display cancelled

  • London
The event is usually attended by 100,000 people Credit: PA

London's annual New Year's Eve fireworks display will not take place this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the city's mayor has confirmed.

Sadiq Khan said instead that he was working on doing something that "people can enjoy in the comfort and safety of their living rooms on TV".

Tens of thousands of people congregate on the banks of the River Thames on December 31 each year to watch the display marking the new year.

Last year around 100,000 revellers packed into the streets around Victoria Embankment, as 2,000 fireworks were fired from the London Eye.

But Mr Khan told LBC radio on Friday morning that there won't be fireworks on New Year's Eve like in previous years.

The Mayor continued to say that he will let Londoners know when they have sorted an alternative celebration.

The event attracted 100,000 people last year

The New Year's Eve fireworks usually bring in £1 million for the capital's economy, and is watched by millions around the world.

In July, tickets for Edinburgh's traditional Hogmanay street party were withdrawn as organisers said it could not take place in its "current form" amid the pandemic