Midnight Fireworks to Resume for New Year’s Eve Celebrations After Five-Year Hiatus

A city council has announced that midnight fireworks will be part of New Year’s Eve celebrations again, marking their first appearance since 2019. Newcastle’s customary midnight display was substituted with a laser light show in 2020 because of Covid restrictions, before being completely called off. Newcastle City Council had stated that lasers, which were subsequently planned for the subsequent year, represented the “more environmentally friendly alternative.” The council has now indicated that fireworks are being brought back due to “public demand,” following advice that the carbon emissions generated by them are “relatively small.” Abdul Samad, a council cabinet member, stated that “local people and visitors to the city have told us their preference is to see in the New Year with fireworks.” There will be two 15-minute displays, scheduled for 18:00 GMT and midnight. In 2022, a council statement declared: “The laser lights are a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative to fireworks to support the city’s carbon zero ambitions, whilst also ensuring less noise pollution and being pet friendly too.” However, the authority reported that its assessment of the laser displays revealed a visitor preference for fireworks. A spokesperson commented, “We have therefore worked closely with our climate change team, who advised the carbon emissions from the fireworks themselves are relatively small.” The spokesperson added, “The main environmental impact is how people travel to any event of this scale, not the nature of the display and so we would ask people to consider public transport and travel sustainably wherever possible.” The authority also mentioned that it has ceased using generators as a power source, which has further diminished the carbon footprint of the events. A specific viewing area will be established on Newcastle Quayside, extending from the Tyne Bridge to the cycle hub adjacent to Spillers Wharf, as well as at Baltic Square on Gateshead Quayside. Road closures are scheduled to commence at 16:00, at which point vehicular access to the quayside and its vicinity will be restricted. The council expressed its desire to encourage public attendance at organized displays instead of individuals setting off their own. It stated, “These are not only safer and more spectacular, but they also focus the use of fireworks to two specific times meaning those who might be affected, for example pet owners, are forewarned and know when to take appropriate action.”