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If you want to ring in the new year early, there is usually no better way to do it than with the London, England New Year’s Eve fireworks display over the River Thames. Unfortunately, for the 2021-2022 New Year’s celebration, the public fireworks display has been canceled, according to the Visit London website.
Instead, BBC One will live stream a “new broadcast spectacular” that will “look back at the defining moments of 2021 and celebrate London roaring back to life as we look ahead to 2022.” There will be fireworks of some kind included. The fun starts at 11:25 p.m. local time (5:25 p.m. Eastern and 2:25 p.m. Pacific time in the United States) with “The Big New Year’s Eve Party with Kylie and Pet Shop Boys” featuring Kylie Minogue. Then at midnight local time comes “Happy New Year Live,” a celebration of 2021 and look ahead to the new year.
The BBC One London New Year’s Eve Spectacular Live Stream
The program will be streaming live on the BBC One website and on its YouTube channel, which will be embedded above as soon as it is live.
The show is billed as an “extravaganza [that] uses state of the art technology and musical accompaniment to showcase the city’s best 2021 moments and to celebrate the revitalisation of London,” according to Visit London.
There is also a live stream available online of the London New Year’s Day Parade 2022, which includes performances by Marisha Wallace, Michael Armstrong, Reiss Davis, DJ Bodalia, KAACHI, Molly Hocking, Boogie Storm, Carnaval del Pueblo, Bloco Fogo, and various marching bands, musical regiments and dance troupes.
New Year’s Eve Fun Facts
New Year’s Eve is the celebration that marks the end of the Gregorian calendar year. The Gregorian calendar was first introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and he is who the calendar is named for, though January 1 as the start of the year actually dates back to Julius Caesar and his eponymous calendar, according to the History Channel.
The annual celebration has many names across the globe, including Calennig in Wales, Hogmanay in Scotland, Baharu in Indonesia and Malaysia, Silvester in many European countries, Kanun Novadgo Goda in Russia, Omisoka in Japan, and Reveillon in France, Portugal, and Brazil.
According to Mental Floss, the first places to ring in the new year Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand, because they are located just west of the International Date Line. Howland Island and Baker Island of the United States are the very last places to celebrate because they are located just east of the International Date Line. What is interesting is that because the International Date Line zig-zags a bit, Kiritimati is actually east of Baker Island.
The United States is known for ringing in the new year with “drops,” i.e. when some large object descends during a countdown. The most famous one is, of course, the ball drop in Times Square in New York City, but there are a bunch of other drops held nationwide, including A peach drop in Atlanta, Georgia; an Indy car drop in Indianapolis, Indiana; a conch shell drop in Key West, Florida, a fleur-de-lis drop in New Orleans; a potato drop in Boise, Idaho; and a tortilla chip drop in Tempe, Arizona.
Fireworks displays are also very popular around the globe. Sydney, Australia famously holds a huge display in the harbor. Other cities that have notable fireworks displays include Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, London, England, Nashville, Las Vegas, and all across Canada.
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