Cost of London Fireworks

[SunshineLollipopsAndRainbows]

Fabulous as they are to watch, I wonder how much those fireworks cost? People are struggling to heat their homes or buy enough food. It doesn’t really sit well with me this year.

They’re nice, but you have to admit £1.5m is fucking ridiculous though. If they cut it from ten minutes to five it would still be fantastic and spectacular but just a bit cheaper - and it always goes on way too long anyway. It’s OTT as it is and gets boring towards the end.

The last two years were pretty much drone displays due to covid. And they were amazing, I’d not seen anything like that before.

But to have the first public NYE since 2919, I think it was lovely that it was back to fireworks with some drones added in.

Still have great memories of 1999 when I lived in London. The displays have got better since then, but it was a big event to be a part of. Would never live in London again, but seeing it like this on tv still makes me happy.

It was probably the best thing i've seen on TV all Christmas, and the tribute to the Queen was incredibly touching. It was also great to see crowds back in London celebrating New Year, the positivity is infectious and that's what we all need after the last few years.

The perpetually offended will never change, it's what they live for. There's also always a budget for this type of thing, for every person moaning about the cost there would be more complaining if it didn't happen.

Hear hear - and a planet-load of champagne to you. Happy New Year 🥂

The London fireworks looked amazing and seemed much more of a display than New Zealand or Paris and others. I'd much rather money was spent on homeless people though. At least it's not freezing this New Year though.

Loved it! Loved the Queen 👑
A wonderful start to the year.

🤣 Have you ever stood by the Thames and actually watched them? Believe me they are not cgi. The smoke and raining ash will attest to that

We absolutely loved the fireworks, drones, lights and music. We like the themes too, and the way key moments are incorporated into the display. And we also thought Sam Ryder was brilliant! He performed some great tunes which had us all smiling and singing along. It was a really upbeat show and a lovely way to start 2023. Happy New Year!

Sydney has the best fireworks.

look people always struggle to buy homes and people have been using food banks for decades.
if no one did anything maybe some money would be saved but surely it would make for some pretty depressing days and nights. honestly maybe attending/watching the fireworks IS the best thing a family with little money could do, after all it's free.

The cost per person is less than £1 each (assuming the fireworks cost £XM where X is a similar number to the near 9 million people who live in London.

So even if there were no fireworks and the money was taken off London council tax bills, it would be barely noticeable. Likewise, if they gave all the money to the million poorest Londoners instead, it would still only be a few quid each, so a drop in the ocean.

No idea what I was watching in person from my balcony last night then.

At least there was not free travel, so hopefully the fares paid on the Underground were more than that.

I believe the money is made back from ticket sales and increased visitors to London for NYE. If it was £1.5m to put on last year I can well believe the money is recouped.

I thought it was a lovely, uplifting show and I loved the light show with the Queen morphing into Charles. The Ukraine bit made me shed a tear and overall it made me really proud of the UK.

Sam Ryder was cheesy but I can't fault him for being unendingly positive and a happy soul. So good on him!

@Lordofthebutterfloofs whee on earth do you get that idea from? 😂 They are very definitely not CGI 😄.

I thought they were amazing last night - as was Sam Smith. Why don’t people switch off if they think it’s all so awful?! 😄

It’s nice to see something celebratory.

We watched those along our skyline instead so actually missed these but I’m all for it.

I just watched some of it, it looked incredible. I’m with you so nice to see positivity.

I’m glad to see many pp feel same it’s miserable on here sometimes.

I suspect the fireworks attract enough people into central London, to cover the cost.

It's NYE after three tough years. People want to celebrate and the fireworks will support the pubs and restaurants, and keep people in work.

I dare say they help to bring the tourist money in. We took young Gdcs into London 2 days running this week - I have honestly NEVER seen so many people crammed on to pavements - anywhere near the London Eye you had to force your way through. Ditto at South Ken near the museums. A cab driver said there were a lot of tourists.

I loved the tribute to the Queen.

Is it just the London fireworks you are complaining about, or the Edinburgh ones as well?

Yeah, because there's no winter markets, Ice rinks, clubs, pubs, bars, restaurants. Nothing really on in London for NYE if there's no fireworks...

Ticket sales at £15 a head probably covero9

gah posted too soon.

cover most of the cost. Anyone paying more than that must have bought tickets on the secondary market. I enjoyed them (on the TV).

There was an initial release of 50,000 tickets, second release was 'around 50,000' so could have been much more. They sell tickets to prevent dangerous congestion. (I recall going to view the fireworks many years ago when it was not ticketed - and being aware of huge crowds and opting to avoid some areas - luckily we are very familiar with Central London and knew where to find a great viewing spot away from the masses crowds).
That 100K @ £15/person would have paid for a substantial proportion of the cost of the whole event. Then there is sponsorship, catering stations etc who I'm sure will have to pay to be there.
I imagine the budget set for the fireworks was based on statistical information from past years and trends likely post lockdown to calculate how many tickets would be sold.
Overall the event attracts vast numbers, many hotels are full, and these people will also be paying for travel or parking ( & congestion charges too). TV rights are likely charged for too (and sold around the world).
Many people will be staying for today's New Year Day parade, so again a great boost for tourism, restaurants bars cafes and shopping too.
I cannot see the overall costs will be greater than the net gain to London in terms of tourism. Many people around the world will be inspired by the Queen/King Charles section of the fireworks to decide to visit for the Coronation too.

Money well spent. If the U.K. wants to maintain its social safety net then it NEEDS net contributors to the system. If you strip away all the events that make London an attractive world class city you lose them. There will always be worthy causes. It doesn't mean we can't celebrate.