New Year’s celebrated across world but UK events cancelled due to bad weather: live

London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks event will go ahead at midnight despite weather concerns across the UK, Sir Sadiq Khan confirmed.

With weather warnings in place, many planned 31 December events have been cancelled, but the capital’s fireworks display will proceed as scheduled to mark the start of 2025.

London Mayor Sir Sadiq said: “I’m really excited about the London New Year’s Eve fireworks, the biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe.

“Hundreds of thousands of fireworks, great light display but also a great soundtrack tonight as well.”

Rome’s traditional New Year’s Eve festivities have an additional draw: the start of Pope Francis’ Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration projected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.

On Tuesday, Francis has celebrated a vespers at St Peter’s Basilica.

Mass on Wednesday will follow, when he is expected to again appeal for peace amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

New Year’s Day, 1 January, is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary.

The release of the New Year Honours provides an opportunity to celebrate individual outstanding achievements and contributions to British society.

Honours have gone to a host of Team GB athletes, including runner Keely Hodgkinson, who was named the 2024 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and mountain biker Tom Pidcock, after the Paris Olympics.

There are also honours for those who campaigned on behalf of wrongfully convicted subpostmasters, after the Horizon IT scandal.

Here we take a look at the full list:

Whether you’re on the hunt for last-minute essentials or looking to stock up on extra supplies to see you through to the New Year, a trip to the supermarket is inevitable over the festive period.

This year the likes of Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Waitrose, Tesco and Morrisons have stocked up on some great New Year’s grub for everyone to enjoy.

But, with many shops planning to close their doors at various times in the coming days, knowing where to pick up some extra food or beverages can be confusing.

So, to help make things a little easier for you, we’ve compiled a handy list of the major supermarket’s opening and closing times over the festive period:

The New Year’s Eve fireworks in London are still set to go ahead despite the bad weather.

A London mayor spokesperon confirmed to the BBC on Tuesday evening that the millions watching at the event and around the world are still set for “a spectacular night of fireworks from the banks of the Thames to welcome in the new year”.

A status yellow rain warning is in place for Cork and Kerry and Met Eireann has predicted a drop in temperature as the country celebrates the new year.

The forecaster has warned that 2025 will bring a cold snap, with temperatures expected to plunge as low as -4C by Thursday.

Cork and Kerry will remain under a status yellow rain warning, which will continue until 6am on Wednesday.

Persistent rain is expected to cause localised flooding and hazardous travelling conditions.

On New Year’s Day, the rain is expected to gradually clear to the south-east.

The forecaster said that brighter conditions and scattered showers will follow from the north-west for the afternoon.

Met Eireann meteorologist Mark Bowe said: “The low moving over on Tuesday will bring significant winds to the north-west but rain will be widespread and rather heavy at times too which could lead to spot flooding.”

The forecaster went on to explain that the weather on Wednesday will prove to be a lot more significant with more rain and very strong and blustery winds for all areas.

Mr Bowe continued: “We are currently tracking the development of the low pressure system expected for Wednesday with potentially some very impactful winds across western and southern areas.”

People in some parts of the UK may have a chance of seeing the Northern Lights on New Year’s Eve, the Met Office said.

People in the east of Scotland, north-east England and Northern Ireland could be treated to sightings of the natural phenomenon, also known as aurora borealis, as they celebrate the new year.

A spokesman said areas of Scotland should have the “best chances” at seeing the Northern Lights.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: “Although the solar conditions are set fair to see the northern lights, unfortunately the meteorological conditions are not that helpful.

“Scotland should provide the best chances but with unsettled conditions dominating it will be hard to get a guaranteed view.

“Perhaps the best areas may be those along the eastern coast of Scotland.”

The forecaster said cloud coverage could “hamper any sightings” but added there could be spells of clear skies from about 6pm to 9pm on Tuesday.

Some areas may only see the lights temporarily after the weather service issued an amber warning for rain in the Highlands and Moray until 5pm and a yellow warning for rain and snow for parts of northern and western Scotland.