The Met Office has issued a number of weather warnings for rain and wind across the UK and several New Year’s Eve events including London fireworks have been cancelled
Several major New Year’s Eve events have been axed due to severe weather forecasts warning of high winds and torrential rain as 2025 dawns.
A new year may be about to dawn, but that doesn’t mean that it’ll be all sunshine and firework displays. A fearsome weather front is sweeping across the UK today, causing a big headache for the organisers of NYE events.
London’s City Hall has announced it is “monitoring the weather” closely regarding the capital’s upcoming celebrations, following the cancellation of part of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay activities. A coastal New Year’s Eve fireworks display has been called off because of predicted high winds, with Blackpool Council described the call as a “tough decision”. However, the council confirmed that a projection show set to music will still light up the night.
Meanwhile, the family party by the sea at the Tower Festival Headland is all set to entertain from 3pm to 6pm.
The stormy conditions are anticipated to sweep across the UK on New Year’s Eve, with yellow advisories for wind and rain issued across areas in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. On Monday afternoon, it was announced that Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations slated for Monday and Tuesday, including the street party and concert in Princes Street Gardens headlined by Texas, and that the midnight fireworks are cancelled. This marks the first pullback since 2006.
An update from the organisers said: “Due to ongoing high winds and inclement weather in Edinburgh city centre, we regret to announce that outdoor events scheduled for Monday and December 31 are unable to go ahead on the grounds of public safety. The cancellation includes tonight’s Night Afore Disco Party in West Princes Street Gardens and, on December 31, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party, Concert in the Gardens and the midnight fireworks from Edinburgh Castle.
“We have been unable to continue with preparations and necessary set-up for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay outdoor events due to extreme weather and forecast conditions. Therefore, for safety reasons, we, along with our event partners, have taken the difficult decision to cancel all outdoor events.” A spokesperson confirmed that indoor events are still going ahead as planned.
As of the time of publication, there are no plans to cancel any New Year’s Eve events in London, but a spokesperson for the mayor confirmed local authorities were continuing “to monitor the weather forecast closely”.
Public fireworks displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, the Isle of Wight and Ripon, North Yorkshire have all been cancelled. On New Year’s Eve, delays to all types of transport are “likely” as strong winds persist and may reach speeds of up to 70mph in England and Northern Ireland, the Met Office has warned.
Wales is under a continuous 24-hour downpour alert starting from 6pm on New Year’s Eve to 6pm on New Year’s Day, reports Wales Online.
The rain warning states: “Beginning on Tuesday (New Year’s Eve), persistent and at times heavy rainfall is expected as a band of rain becomes slow-moving across the region, accompanied by strong winds. There remains a bit of uncertainty around how this evolves on Wednesday morning, which will impact final rainfall totals, but rain is expected to clear to the southeast through Wednesday afternoon. 30-50 mm is expected fairly widely, with 60-80 mm across west-facing hills.”
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: “It will be a tricky couple of days and a wet and windy spell for many up into the new year. We’re encouraging anyone who is planning to travel to keep up to date with the weather forecast and news from their local authorities.”
Wind is expected of speeds up to 60mph across much of England and Wales all day on Wednesday, January 1, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.
Cancelled New Year’s Eve events and services:
- Edinburgh Hogmanay
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Fireworks on Newcastle’s Quayside
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Fireworks at the Market Square in Ripon
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Fireworks at the Sandown Carnival on the Isle of Wight
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Several CalMac Ferries services on the west coast of Scotland
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Isle of Man Steam Packet Company sailings between Heysham and Douglas
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Alice Holt parkrun
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Dorset boat race in Poole quay
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Sea dip in Lyme Regis
