Coronavirus: London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks cancelled due to pandemic
Written by News on 18/09/2020
London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display will not go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sadiq Khan has said.
The city’s mayor said the annual event will not go ahead this year because “we simply cannot afford” to have people gathering as they normally would.
Speaking on LBC Radio, Mr Khan said: “I can tell you that there will not be a fireworks New Year’s Eve this year like in previous years.
“We simply cannot afford to have the number of people congregate on New Year’s Eve.”
The mayor added: “What we are working on is to do something that people can enjoy in the comfort and safety of their living rooms on TV.”
Mr Khan said that the exact details of what would happen on 31 December have not been finalised.
He said: “As soon as we manage to bottom that out I’ll be letting Londoners and people across the country know.
“We can’t afford to lose that slot because New Year’s Eve is a really great opportunity for the rest of the world to see how wonderful our city is.
“Particularly during a recession, we need to continue investment in our city and people coming to London.”
Upwards of 100,000 tickets were reported to have been sold for last year’s display – and many more people lined the streets of the capital to watch.
The mayor said there would be no display at all in London to stop people getting together.
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“There will be nothing going on in town,” Mr Khan said.
“So the key thing to avoid will be a reason for people to come in to town.”
(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks cancelled due to pandemic
