What's it really like at Sadiq Khan's London NYE fireworks? Reveller reveals viewers were 'penned in like sheep' and got 'awful' views - all while paying £45 a ticket for the pleasure | Retrui News | Retrui
What's it really like at Sadiq Khan's London NYE fireworks? Reveller reveals viewers were 'penned in like sheep' and got 'awful' views - all while paying £45 a ticket for the pleasure
SOURCE:Daily Mail
The 12-minute display from the Mayor kicked off at midnight as Brits across the country celebrated the beginning of 2026, and was broadcast on the BBC.
A reveller has revealed what attending Sadiq Khan's London New Year's Eve fireworks can really be like, complaining viewers paid £45 only to be 'penned in like sheep' with an 'awful view'.
The 12-minute display from the Mayor kicked off at midnight as Brits across the country celebrated the beginning of 2026, and was broadcast on the BBC.
But some viewers were less than impressed with this year's offering, accusing organisers of featuring an 'advert' for the new Wicked movie and criticised it for not featuring Ozzy Osbourne, who died earlier in 2025.
The 100,000 people lining the banks of the River Thames and millions more watching on the BBC saw visuals from the film projected onto the London Eye.
Although content creator Alex Dodman told how attending the display is not all it's cracked up to be, hitting out at £20 burgers, a 'f***ing awful' view and inaudible music at the 2024/2025 event.
'If you've ever wondered if you're missing out going into London to watch their famous New Year's Eve firework display, don't worry, you're not,' Mr Dodman told his 200,000 followers on Instagram.
'It's f***ing s***.'
He lamented how, 'years ago', attending the fireworks was free and easy to get to due to free travel on the London Underground on 31 December each year.
Although content creator Alex Dodman told how attending the display is not all it's cracked up to be, hitting out at £20 burgers, a 'f***ing awful' view and inaudible music
The 12-minute display from the Mayor kicked off at midnight as Brits across the country celebrated the beginning of 2026, and was broadcast on the BBC
In 2014, then-mayor Boris Johnson announced that from that year all future displays would be ticketed and no longer free. Costless travel on the underground for new year ended in 2020 due to financial pressures brought by the pandemic, and has not been reinstated.
Describing free journeys as a 'nice little gesture to the people of London', Mr Dodman went on: 'But that's all stopped now and as this is now named The Mayor of London's New Year's Eve celebrations, it all makes sense.'
Describing his experience at last year's event, he added: 'My ticket cost £45 for the green zone, behind the London Eye, where you're all penned in like sheep.
'And the last entry is 10:30pm. And now you're in you've got over an hour and a half to kill in a massive crowd.
'If you're an anxious person this would be your worst nightmare.'
The content creator went on to say that the 'only crumbs of comfort' available for those waiting for the fireworks are portaloos, 'massive' queues for a food truck where a burger will set punters back £20.
Images of the truck's menu show a 'Big Cheese Burger' costs £22 with chips another £6.50 on top. Cheesy chips will set customers back £9.50, while a classic cheeseburger comes in at £16.
He added his view of the fireworks was 'f***ing awful' and located right in front of a building site.
Images of the truck's menu show a 'Big Cheese Burger' costs £22 with chips another £6.50 on top
The 100,000 people lining the banks of the River Thames this year and millions more watching on the BBC saw thousands of fireworks go off, set to music and with visual animations
Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba in Wicked: For Good, featured in the London 2026 fireworks which some viewers accused of 'advertising' the movie
Branding from the movie 'Wicked: For Good' was also seen on signage in the area last night
As for the big event itself, Mr Dodman said: 'The fireworks themselves were, yeah, fireworks, loud and bangy.
'But I've just watched it back on the BBC and this whole thing is definitely set up for TV. We could hardly hear any of the music and got none of the good stuff like Paddington from down here.'
However even after the display was over, according to Mr Dodman his ordeal was far from complete.
He described getting out of the area the 'worst f***ing bit' with the Tubes 'absolutely rammed', and concluded the whole event was a 'waste of time'.
Mr Dodman said: 'This is no exaggeration, it was one of the s****est pointless nights I've ever had.'
Many of his followers agreed with the candid review, with one attendee from last year's event adding: 'Accurate - I was in the same section and you couldn’t even buy a drink! Not even a bottle of water.'
A second said: 'I’d rather rip my face off and throw salt on it'.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said today the London firework display is 'the greatest in the world' and that the theme for this year's edition was togetherness.
He said: 'We spend a lot of time and effort curating our New Year's Eve celebrations - the theme of tonight's celebration is togetherness.
'I think diversity is a strength not a weakness - it makes us richer not poorer, stronger not weaker. I think you can be a proud Londoner but also someone whose country of origin is somewhere across the globe.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said today the London firework display is 'the greatest in the world' and that the theme for this year's edition was togetherness
More than 12,000 fireworks and more than 400 lights illuminated the night sky around the London Eye, in what is the largest annual firework display in Europe
The production used a technology called hologauze, which uses semi-transparent fabric to create 3D-like visual effects by projecting images onto it (Pictured: London's NYE fireworks)
'I'm delighted that we have once again shown why London's New Year's Eve celebrations are the greatest in the world.'
But many viewers were less than impressed with the final offering, accusing it of essentially including an advert for the new Wicked movie, released at the end of November.
The display from the Mayor featured prominent visuals and songs from Wicked: For Good in an 'event partnership' between his office and Universal Pictures.
Cynthia Erivo, who stars as Elphaba in the movie, recorded a message encouraging people to 'embrace the magic that we all have inside and come together, for good'.
One tweeted: 'I found the fireworks boring, and why was there basically an advert for Wicked in the middle?'
Another wrote: 'The wicked ad in the middle of the fireworks OMFG. Late-stage capitalism has gone too far.' And a third said: 'The Wicked ad felt weird though, yes? Why did my fireworks come with a side of marketing?'
The song 'Defying Gravity' played as fireworks lit up the sky in the film's pink and green colours along with images of Elphaba and Glinda, played by Ariana Grande.
The message from Erivo – recently made an MBE - said: 'Hello fellow Londoners. As we travel the Yellow Brick Road into a New Year, let us stand for positivity and hope, embrace the magic that we all have inside and come together, for good.'
Other viewers pointed out that there was no reference to Ozzy Osbourne after the Black Sabbath heavy metal singer died in July aged 76.
The production used a technology called hologauze, which uses semi-transparent fabric to create 3D-like visual effects by projecting images onto it.
Some of the images displayed during the fireworks celebrated some of the highlights of the year, including celebrating England's women's rugby team winning the world cup and the Lionesses' victory at the Euros - as well as the men's Ryder cup success.
The display was set to a soundtrack which also included the likes of Raye, Sabrina Carpenter, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay and featuring voice overs from Celia Imrie, Andrew Cotter and Alison Hammond.
More than 12,000 fireworks and more than 400 lights illuminated the night sky around the London Eye, in what is the largest annual firework display in Europe.
As well as celebrating national achievements of the last 12 months, the display also referenced last summer being the UK's hottest on record and featured a nod to the social media 'tea-time alarm' meme that suggested there is a daily alarm reminding British people to enjoy a cup of tea.