London Eye to host New Year’s Eve celebrations

The London Eye will be celebrating its 10th anniversary on December 31st 2009 and to mark the occasion it will also be hosting a huge fireworks display. London Mayor, Boris Johnson, announced the plans for the event and also told how BBC One would show live coverage of the display. There will be music during the lead up to midnight at the London Eye provided by Nihal, the Radio One DJ who has won awards for his work.

Johnson spoke about he planned to welcome 2010 in with a bang is a bid to show the rest of the world that the UK is looking to the future with optimism. As well as the spectacular fireworks display that is planned, Christmas trees, sparkling street lights, ice-skating throughout iconic locations in London and carol concerts are also part of the plans to make London a place to visit over the festive period. Anyone wanting to attend the fireworks display should plan well in advance as pubs and clubs close by will mainly be ticketed through advanced bookings.

There will be limited viewing space close to the London Eye along the River Thames but as the display will be shown on television many may choose to watch from home. Public transport is likely to get clogged up but bus routes are scheduled to run as normal. Free travel has also been offered on the buses, trams, DLR and tube lines between 23:45 through to 04:30. Some tube stations may be closed and anyone travelling on New Year’s Eve should check out station closures before travelling.