New year: Tributes to late Queen as fireworks welcome in 2023
- Published
A 12-minute firework display lit up the sky over Big Ben and the London Eye in central London
The UK has celebrated the new year with firework displays and street parties for the first time fully since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
Despite wet weather, partygoers were undeterred and took to the streets to usher in 2023.
London's firework display, which featured a tribute to the late Queen, attracted more than 100,000 people.
And in Edinburgh, the world-famous Hogmanay street party was enjoyed by more than 30,000 people.
It was the first time since 2019 that people gathered along the Thames Embankment to watch the 12-minute firework display in London, which the city's mayor Sadiq Khan described as the biggest in Europe.
As Big Ben's chimes began, drones took shape in the sky to help the crowd count down to midnight, before London's famous skyline exploded into colour with a barrage of fireworks to welcome in the new year.
The sold-out show in the capital, set to music, paid tribute to the late Queen - with more drones forming the shape of a crown in the sky, before transforming into the shape of ER II and then the familiar image of her face in profile on a huge coin.
The display also featured a voice recording from the late Queen and words from Dame Judi Dench. It then went on to honour the King with a message about the need to preserve our planet's future.
A tribute was paid to the late Queen Elizabeth during London's fireworks display
The display also highlighted the Lionesses' history-making Euro win at Wembley and 50 years of London's Pride with a message from Peter Tatchell of the Gay Liberation Front.
There was a message of support for Ukraine with blue and yellow fireworks and the London Eye lit up in the colours of the country's flag, sound-tracked by the Ukrainian Eurovision winner Kalush Orchestra.
Other music heard during the display included hits from Stormzy, Calvin Harris, Rihanna, Kylie Minogue and Madness, before it finished with the traditional Auld Lang Syne.
Blue and yellow fireworks light up the sky above London in support of Ukraine
Drones were used to spelled out a positive message during the show, welcoming in "2023 with love from London"
Meanwhile, thousands of people have lined the streets of London for the city's New Year's Day parade.
More than 8,000 performers from across the world - including marching bands, cheerleaders, pearly kings and queens and dancers - brought a carnival feel to the city.
Parade founder Bob Bone said: "This is the first mass gathering of the parade since Covid. This is the first time since 2020 we have had a parade."
A performer in a Paddington Bear costume taking part in London's New Year's Day Parade
Cheerleaders from US are among 8,000 performers from across the world in London for the event
Last night organisers of the sold-out Hogmanay street party in Edinburgh said it was back in its "rightful home" after the coronavirus pandemic.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described it as the "first full Hogmanay celebrations in three years".
In a new year message on Twitter, she wrote: "Thinking back to Hogmanay last year and indeed the year before that, we're reminded of just how far we have come from the very darkest days of the pandemic."
Fireworks lit up Edinburgh's Castle and The Pet Shop Boys headlined the event in Princes Street Gardens.
The street party, which has previously offered 60,000 spaces, was scaled back to just 30,000 tickets.
Partygoers queued in the rain to be at the Hogmanay street party in Princes Street
Fireworks light up the sky over Edinburgh Castle and the Balmoral Hotel Clock to mark the new year
In Cardiff, families partied in the city's Winter Wonderland, while people in Belfast celebrated at Europa Hotel's annual Gala Ball.
But elsewhere, one new year celebration did not take place as a result of an arctic walrus being spotted on the coast.
The walrus was discovered in Scarborough's town harbour on New Year's Eve and the council decided to cancel its show after warnings it could cause distress to the animal.
In a village further down the coast in East Yorkshire, re-enactors took part in the Flamborough Fire Festival in a Viking-themed parade.
Viking re-enactors use flaming torches during to write 2023 at a festival near Bridlington, Yorkshire
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak released a video message on social media marking the new year, in which he said he was confident "better times lie ahead" and he wanted people to feel "hopeful" going into 2023.
"I may have only had the job for several weeks at this point, but actually I feel good about the future," he said.
"I feel positive about the change that we can bring so that we can improve everyone's lives, so that we can deliver the peace of mind that people are looking for in the here and now."
Mr Sunak's video address struck a more upbeat tone than an earlier message when he said the UK's problems will not go away in 2023.
WATCH: How the world brought in 2023
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