∞ Destination is Infinity

London New Year

We saw in 2020 from the blue entrance, right in front of the London Eye.

Watch the film 9:24

Midnight in front of the Eye

"Although there was a long wait out in the cold and tightly packed crowds, the experience of fireworks were mesmerising and magical."

Us, 1 January 2020

We went in through the blue entrance and stood across the river from the London Eye, under bare branches, packed in with the crowd. Then we waited in the cold. Our Sony A7 III filmed about nine minutes of the show.

  1. Blue entrance31 Dec 2019 · before midnightA long wait in the cold
  2. Midnight0:10 in the filmRed, white and blue
  3. Green, pink and gold1:05
  4. Into the smoke1:55Lasers
  5. Happy New Year 20209:18
The London Eye lit up white at midnight, with sparks shooting out from its rim and red and lilac fans on either side
The London Eye glowing blue across the dark river just before midnight, with the crowd in silhouetteA wall of white shells filling the sky under bare branches, with red smoke beside the Eye
Night
31 Dec 2019
Entrance
Blue, in front of the Eye
In the film
0:00–1:04

Midnight

Just before midnight, the Eye glowed blue across the dark river. Then its rim turned red, white and blue, and the whole wheel lit up white, with sparks shooting out all round it.

For the next minute the show came in sets. Red fans fired to the left of the Eye and lilac ones to the right, while white fountains rose up through its spokes. White and gold shells opened overhead. The last set was the biggest, a wall of white that filled the sky between the branches above us.

0:00 Watch midnight

The year before · New Year's Eve 2018

For New Year's Eve 2018 we booked three nights in Soho and a party boat, the Golden Jubilee, from Temple Pier. The ticket was for a party from 9pm to 1am. In 2019 we watched from the bank, with the Eye straight ahead.

Green sparks filling the sky over the London Eye, lit pink, with green fountains along the river and phones raised in the crowd
Gold shells bursting over a row of crossing gold fountains along the river, with the crowd filmingThe Eye's rim glowing purple alone in the dark, with red lights by the water
Colours
Green, pink, gold
On the river
A row of gold fountains
In the film
1:05–1:54

Green, pink and gold

Then the colours changed. The Eye turned pink, green sparks filled the sky over it, and green fountains fired along the river. For half a minute, pink and green shells took turns overhead.

Gold came next. A row of fountains fired along the water, crossing each other in a long zigzag, and gold shells burst above them. White, pink and red followed in quick turns. Then, for a moment, the sky emptied, and the Eye stood alone in the dark, glowing purple.

Almost everyone around us was filming. Nearly every frame we shot has a row of phone screens along the bottom.

1:05 Watch the green, pink and gold
Red fans of sparks criss-crossing in red smoke over the river, with phones held up in the crowd
A ring of gold sparks round the Eye's rim in the darkYellow laser beams fanning up through orange smoke over the crowd
Colours
Red, then gold
Lasers
Green, yellow, blue
In the film
1:55–9:16

Into the smoke

Red took over next. Fans of red sparks criss-crossed above the river, and then a ring of gold sparks opened right round the Eye's rim.

By then the smoke had built up between us and the river. Soon after two minutes in, the Eye faded to a faint outline. The fireworks kept going inside the cloud, so it glowed red, orange and gold, and shells kept bursting above the branches. Lasers cut through in green, yellow and blue.

We kept filming for seven more minutes, with phones still up all around us.

1:55 Watch the smoke and lasers

"Happy New Year 2020"

That's the card our film ends on. It has had more than 10,000 views, more than any other long video on our channel.

From our bookings

  • Know your entrance. The area along the river is cordoned off for the Mayor's fireworks, and the entrances have colours. In 2019 ours was the blue entrance, right in front of the Eye. In 2018 our boat pass sent us to Red Entrance 4 for Temple Pier.
  • A boat won't be in front of the Eye. Our 2018 boat company warned that the river in front of the London Eye is closed to boats during the display, so the boat would moor on the other side of a bridge. In their words, "the view will not be as seen on tv".
  • Take the route you're given, and go early. The 2018 instructions said to take the Underground to Temple station and walk Arundel Street, the Strand and Surrey Street, "the only recommended route". They said to leave a lot of extra time. Boarding was 8.45pm for a 9pm departure, and late-comers got no refund.
  • Print a pass for each person. Each of us needed our own printed boarding pass and ticket. They were checked at security between Temple station and the pier.
  • Read the small print on party boats. Ours was over-21s only and smart casual. It had a coat rail but no secure cloakroom.

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