New Year's Eve fireworks return after five years

Midnight fireworks will return to New Year’s Eve celebrations for the first time since 2019, a city council has announced.

Newcastle's traditional midnight display was replaced by a laser light show in 2020 due to Covid restrictions but then cancelled entirely.

Newcastle City Council said lasers, which were then arranged for the following year, were the "more environmentally friendly alternative".

The authority has now said fireworks were being reintroduced due to "public demand" after it had been advised the resulting carbon emissions were "relatively small".

Council cabinet member Abdul Samad said "local people and visitors to the city have told us their preference is to see in the New Year with fireworks".

Two 15-minute shows will take place at 18:00 GMT and midnight.

A council statement in 2022 said: "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."

But the authority said its evaluation of the laser displays showed visitors preferred fireworks.

"We have therefore worked closely with our climate change team, who advised the carbon emissions from the fireworks themselves are relatively small," a spokesperson said.

"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 said it had stopped using generators as a power source, which also reduced the events' carbon footprint.

A designated viewing area will be set up on Newcastle Quayside, from the Tyne Bridge to the cycle hub next to Spillers Wharf, and at Baltic Square on Gateshead Quayside.

Road closures will be in place from 16:00 when car access to the quayside and surrounding areas will be closed off.

The council said it wanted to encourage people to attend organised displays rather than have their own.

"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."

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