More than 100,000 people will gather beside the River Thames around the Coca-Cola London Eye for the London New Year's Eve Fireworks.
The best places to watch the spectacular display organised by the Mayor of London is around Victoria Embankment, Westminster Bridge, South Bank and Waterloo Bridge.
But you need tickets to get into these areas which since 2014 have been cordoned off for ticket-holders only to prevent overcrowding.
The first batch of tickets for New Year's Eve 2018 sold out earlier in November.
But more tickets will be released on Friday (November 30) giving you another chance to get your hands on one and bag yourself one of the best spots in the city.
They are in very high demand though so you had better get yours quick if you want to go - you won't be able to get in the cordoned-off area without one.
Of course, you can still watch the fireworks on TV but nothing is quite like the experience of actually being there.
This year, as part of the Mayor’s #LondonIsOpen campaign, the capital will welcome in the New Year by celebrating its relationship with Europe through the music of some of the continent’s finest artists.
The fireworks will show the world that London is proud to be a global, European city and send a message of support to the more than one million European citizens living in London.
The pyrotechnic and lighting display will be choreographed to music, with more than 12,000 fireworks, 2,000 lighting cues and 30 tonnes of equipment on three barges on the River Thames.
It will again be started by the chimes of Big Ben, which has been silent while renovation work is carried out.
If you are planning to go this year here is what you need to know about buying tickets, traffic and travel, getting there, what to expect while you're there and getting home again.
The information below, from the Mayor of London's office and Transport for London, is the latest at the time of writing but any updates, as well as any changes, will be announced as the event draws closer - keep an eye on the Mayor of London's website at www.london.gov.uk/nye, the Transport for London website at www.tfl.gov.uk and National Rail Enquires website at www.nationalrail.co.uk for the latest news.
Ticket holders will be sent more information when they receive their tickets, too.
Also, keep an eye on our
How do I get tickets?
The first batch of tickets went on sale at noon on Friday, September 28 and sold out.
The second, smaller, batch of tickets go on sale at noon on Friday (November 30).
There are tickets for different areas.
You can buy tickets at www.seetickets.com here.
You can also reach this via www.london.gov.uk/nye and www.visitlondon.com.
You can only buy tickets on the website and they will not be available on the night.
How much are tickets?
All tickets are £10 - the same price as they were when it first became a ticketed event in 2014. One person can book up to four tickets.
Where are the different ticket areas, how do I get to them and what tube station should I use?
There are six viewing areas - blue, red, pink, green, white and the accessible viewing area.
If you're coming with friends, make sure you book the same viewing area because you won't be able to move between them.
You also need to choose a specific ticket for the entrance gate you want to use within the viewing area as some have more than one entrance.
You should try and book tickets on the side of the river you will arrive and leave from. Many bridges will be closed to traffic and pedestrians, and you won't be able to travel across them.
Once you have entered the event you won't be allowed to re-enter if you leave.
Blue area: Covers Victoria Embankment from Westminster Bridge to Golden Jubilee Footbridge. It has a head-on view directly opposite the Coco-Cola London Eye. It can only be reached from the north side of the River Thames. It includes entrance 1, for which you arrive via Victoria Tube Station, which is on the Victoria, District and Circle lines, and entrance 2, for which you arrive via Green Park Tube Station, which is on the Victoria, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines. Entry is allowed between 8pm and 10.30pm.
Red area: Covers Victoria Embankment from Golden Jubilee Footbridge to Temple Avenue. It has a side view further down the river from the London Eye. It can only be reached from the north side of the Thames. It includes entrance 4, for which you arrive via Holborn Tube Station, served by the Central and Piccadilly lines, and entrance 5, for which you arrive via Blackfriars Tube Station, served by the Circle and District lines. Entry is allowed between 8pm and 10.30pm.
Pink area: This area is on Waterloo Bridge only. It has a partial side view of the London Eye. The bridge can be reached by the north and south entrances. You can't cross the bridge to enter other ticketed areas. It includes entrance 3, for which you arrive via Holborn Tube Station, served by the Central and Piccadilly lines, and entrance 6, for which you arrive via Waterloo Tube Station, which is served by the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines. Entry is allowed between 8.30pm and 10.30pm.
Green area: Covers the area directly behind the London Eye and has a close up view. It can only be reached via the south side of the river. It includes entrance 7 for which you arrive via Southwark Tube Station, which is on the Jubilee line. Entry is allowed between 8pm and 10.30pm.
White area: This area is Westminster Bridge only. It has a partial side view close to the London Eye. It can only be reached via the south side of the river. It includes entrance 8 for which you arrive via Waterloo Tube Station, which is served by the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines. There is no access from Westminster Tube Station. Entry is allowed between 8pm and 10.30pm.
Accessible viewing area: Covers Albert Embankment, riverside of St Thomas' Hospital. It has a side view of the London Eye. It can be reached from the south side of the river only. It includes entrance 9, for which you arrive via Waterloo Tube Station, which is served by the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern and Waterloo & City lines. Entry is allowed between 8pm and 10.30pm.
Christmas and New Year's Eve 2018
What time does everything start?
You can get into your ticket area between 8pm and 10.30pm for most areas except the pink area, which you can get into between 8.30pm and 10.30pm.
At around 9pm the DJ will start getting everyone into the party mood.
Obviously, the fireworks are at midnight and just before then there will be the big countdown to the bongs of Big Ben and the fireworks.
The 12-minute display of fireworks will light up the area and be set to a specially created soundtrack.
But when it's all over the DJ will keep on playing and won't leave till you've gone, so there is no need to all rush off at once.
How get there and get home:
Most public transport will be running and will be the easiest way to get around.
There will be a special all-night service on most Tube lines, the DLR and London Trams.
There will be free travel from 11.45pm on New Year's Eve until 4.30am on New Year's Day, except on London Rivers boat services and Emirates Air Line cable car services across the River Thames.
The travel information which follows is what we know at the time of writing.
You should be prepared for possible changes to regular Tube and train services. Ticket holders will be advised of the best stations to use and queueing systems are likely to be in place.
More details and the most up-to date information on travel services, road closures and getting to and from the event will be announced nearer the time on the Mayor of London website here.
You can also keep up to date with all the travel information for Tubes, trains and buses on the TfL network on New Year's Eve at www.tfl.gov.uk here.
For travel after 4.30am on New Years Day visit this TFL website page here.
Travel information for National Rail services on New Year's Eve can be found here.
We have summarised the travel information from these sites for you below.
What tube station should I use?
As we explained above, these are the Underground stations serving each entrance gate:
Blue Area Entrance 1 – Victoria Station
Blue Area Entrance 2 – Green Park Station
Pink Area Entrance 3 – Holborn Station
Red Area Entrance 4 – Holborn Station
Red Area Entrance 5 – Blackfriars Station
Pink Area Entrance 6 – Waterloo Station
Green Area Entrance 7 – Southwark Station
White Area Entrance 8 – Waterloo Station
Accessible Viewing Area Entrance 9 – Waterloo Station
Tube services on New Year's Eve - when will the tube run until?
There will be a special all-night service on most lines but you should remember the following:
- There will be no Piccadilly service between Rayners Lane and Uxbridge
- First trains will be at weekday times
- On most lines, trains will run about every 2 to 8 minutes in central London and about every 5 to 15 minutes in outer areas and on branches until 4.30am on New Year's Day
- The Waterloo and City line will not run all night
- Services are not as frequent on some sections of the Central, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Piccadilly lines.
The following tube stations will be closed or exit-only:
- Blackfriars station - between 11.30pm and 4.30am, open for Tube services only
- Chalk Farm - closed from 9pm
- Charing Cross - closed from 7pm
- Covent Garden - exit only from 7pm
- Embankment - closed from 11.30pm to 12.15am
- Leicester Square - exit only from 8pm, closed from 11.30pm
- Piccadilly Circus - closed from 11.30pm
- Southwark - exit only from 11.45pm
Westminster - interchange only from 9.30pm
You can read more detail on the TfL website here.
Explore the London Underground
Travelling by train on the Overground, TfL Rail, DLR and National Rail:
There are likely to be train timetable changes in place and those with tickets travelling to see the fireworks are advised to check the latest updates.
Engineering work will be taking place on some Overground lines and on TfL Rail.
If you're travelling into London on the National Rail mainline network, there will also be railway engineering works affecting some lines into some London stations during Christmas and into New Year.
This includes no Southern trains between London Victoria and Clapham Junction, with trains diverting to and from London Bridge. You can keep up to date at www.nationalrail.co.uk here.
Overground service changes:
- On routes without closures there will be a Saturday service
- No service between South Tottenham and Barking
- No service between Romford and Upminster
- No service between Edmonton Green and Cheshunt
- Reduced service between Liverpool Street and Chingford
- Reduced service between Liverpool Street and Edmonton Green
- Special all-night service between Highbury & Islington and New Cross Gate
- Special service between Willesden Junction and Stratford
TfL Rail service changes:
- No service between Liverpool Street and Romford
- Reduced service between Romford and Shenfield
- Reduced service between Paddington and Heathrow Terminal 4
DLR services:
- There will be a special all-night service - trains will run every 15 minutes on all routes from 12.30am until 8am.
You can read more detail on the TfL website here.
Getting around by car and road closures:
There will be no Congestion Charge or T-charge from Tuesday, December 25 until Tuesday, January 1.
From 2pm there will be road closures around Victoria Embankment, Westminster Bridge, Whitehall and St. James's Park. There will be closures from 5pm on the South Bank
Most roads should be reopened by 6am or as soon as it is safe to do so.
Some sections of the East to West Cycle Superhighway (CS3) and the North to South Cycle Superhighway (CS6) will be affected by road closures for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
More detailed information can be found Mayor of London website here and TfL website here.
Getting there and home by bus - when will buses run until?
On New Year’s Eve, there will be a Saturday service, with changes for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
From 2pm bus routes in central London will be diverted or stop short of their final destination in preparation for the ticketed fireworks celebrations.
An enhanced Saturday service is running on route 507 which is the Waterloo Station/Upper Taxi Road to Victoria Bus Station route. A limited service is running on normal Monday to Friday only routes 521 (Waterloo Station/Tenison Way to London Bridge Station) and X68 (West Croydon Bus Station to Russell Square).
From 7.30pm, buses will run from "hub" locations: Elephant & Castle, Holborn, Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, Green Park and Victoria.
Most bus services are expected to return to normal by 6am.
You find out more details here.
Getting there by taxi or minicab:
Black cabs and minicabs can’t come into central London where there are road closures. If you tell the driver which side of the river you have tickets for they will be able to plan how to cross the river.
You will be able to hail a taxi on the street outside the road closure area.
Taxi fares will have an extra charge of £4 from 8pm on New Year’s Eve.
Travelling part of the way by tram
If you're planning on catching a tram for part of your journey there will be a Saturday service in place. There will be a special all-night service every 30 minutes between Wimbledon and Beckenham Junction/New Addington. This runs until Sunday first tram times on New Year's Day.
Cable car and riverboat services:
The Emirates Air Line cable car service will run at slightly different times from 7am to 9pm.
TfL riverboat services will finish early from 9pm.
Can I buy or bring in food and drink in the ticketed areas?
Food and drink can be bought from stalls inside some of the ticketed areas and from cafes and bars.
You will be able to buy alcohol from permanent licenced places, too.
You can bring your own food and drink into the ticketed areas.
Can I bring my own alcohol into the ticketed areas?
You'll be pleased to know you can bring a reasonable amount of alcohol into the ticketed areas too.
Stewards will check how much alcohol you are bringing in though so just bring some for yourself, rather than for your mates too - or it might be confiscated.
Don’t bring any glass into the viewing areas - just cans or plastic bottles.
Will there be any toilets?
There will be toilets including accessible toilets and they will all be signposted.
What else should I bring with me and can I bring it in a rucksack?
Firstly, don't forget your ticket. Email confirmations won’t be accepted. Tickets will be scanned on entry. The person named on the ticket must be present and may be asked to show photo ID as proof.
Bring only a small bag for essential items or ideally no bag at all. There will be "bag restriction policy" which means no backpacks or suitcases will be allowed into the event.
You'll probably want to take your selfie stick to capture those Facebook, Instagram and Twitter moments.
I was too late to get tickets or I prefer to stay at home - what New Year Eve celebrations can I watch on TV?
Of course, you can always watch it in the warm from home on the BBC live, turning over to BBC1 at 11.55pm to hear the bongs of Big Ben and watching the firework display before singing Auld Lang Syne in the living room.
The TV schedule for this year is to be announced but another popular regular is of course Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny on BBC2.
If you want to go out but didn't get tickets for the fireworks at the London Eye, you might celebrate the New Year at hundreds of events at bars, restaurants, pubs and clubs across the capital.
What are those websites again?
You can keep up to date with the latest stories about New Year's Eve in London here.
For more details and latest information including travel visit the Mayor of London's website here.
For tickets visit See Tickets here.
For travel information visit the Transport for London website here and the National Rail Enquiries website here.
