London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display is set to go ahead at midnight despite fears of high winds, a spokesman for the Mayor of London said.
He said event ticket holders and “millions of people watching around the world” were set for “a spectacular night of fireworks from the banks of the Thames to welcome in the new year”.
Those without tickets for the riverside viewing areas are being urged to watch on TV or “Welcome to 2025 in the capital’s spectacular hospitality venues”.
The Met Office has forecast gale-force winds from the south-west at midnight and has issued a yellow wind warning for London from 00:15 GMT on New Year’s Day.
A yellow warning remains in place until 15:00 GMT, indicating that strong winds are possible.
Earlier, Daryl Fleming of Titanium Fireworks, responsible for London’s New Year’s fireworks display, told BBC London. He was confident that he and his team of experts had prepared for all eventualities.
He said the wind was “in the right direction, and if we need to cut parts of the show, we can do that, we have all those plans in place”.
“We look forward to putting on a full show.”
He said his team had already decided to change the angle of the fireworks “a little bit into the wind, so we can increase that safety distance”.
Mr Fleming added: “From a broadcast point of view no one is really going to notice the difference and everyone will still enjoy the show, but we know we will deliver it as safely as possible.”