New Year’s Eve is always a really exciting time of year. I love spending the evening with friends and remembering all the good things that have happened and all the things I have learned in the past twelve months. This year, I was lucky enough to celebrate the beginning of 2014 in London on the banks of the River Thames.
The city of London offers one of the most spectacular firework displays in Europe on New Year’s Eve. The fireworks are launched next to the river, from the base of the London Eye. They light up famous landmarks like Big Ben and Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Apparently, around 250 000 people go to watch the fireworks every year!
Before going to the river on New Year’s Eve, my friends and I did a traditionally British thing – we went to the pub. We shared our best and worst moments of 2013 and talked about the exciting things that 2014 might bring. Then we joined the crowds of Londoners, families and tourists to wait until midnight.
The fireworks were fantastic. As well as the visual effects, there was also peach snow and banana flavoured confetti! The explosions were accompanied by the best British music from 2013, including some of my favourite songs. Even though it was raining, everyone put their umbrellas down and forgot about the weather. We held hands and danced to the traditional New Year's song called ‘Auld Lang Syne’. It was a wonderful feeling celebrating the arrival of 2014 in London: I had seen the fireworks before on television but it was much better to watch them in real life.
How did you celebrate New Year's Eve this year? Are there firework displays in your city?