A New Year’s Eve attendee has shared a less-than-glowing review of the annual fireworks display organized by Sadiq Khan in London, criticizing the event as overpriced and poorly managed. The reveler felt that paying £45 only to be “herded like sheep” with a “terrible view” was far from worth it.

The 12-minute spectacle, hosted by the Mayor, lit up the sky at midnight as people across the United Kingdom ushered in 2026. It was also broadcast live on the BBC, allowing millions to join in the celebration from home.

However, not everyone was thrilled with this year’s presentation. Some attendees accused the organizers of turning the event into a promotional segment for the upcoming Wicked movie. There were also complaints about the absence of a tribute to rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away in 2025.

Approximately 100,000 people gathered along the River Thames, witnessing scenes from the film projected onto the iconic London Eye, while millions more tuned in via the BBC broadcast.

Content creator Alex Dodman was among those who expressed disappointment, pointing out the steep prices, including £20 for burgers, a “dreadful” view, and music that was barely audible during the 2024/2025 celebration.

“If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re missing out by not heading to London for their famed New Year’s Eve fireworks, rest assured, you’re not,” Dodman remarked to his 200,000 Instagram followers.

‘It’s f***ing s***.’

He lamented how, ‘years ago’, attending the fireworks was free and easy to get to due to free travel on the London Underground on 31 December each year.

Although content creator Alex Dodman told how attending the display is not all it’s cracked up to be, hitting out at £20 burgers, a ‘f***ing awful’ view and inaudible music

The 12-minute display from the Mayor kicked off at midnight as Brits across the country celebrated the beginning of 2026, and was broadcast on the BBC 

In 2014, then-mayor Boris Johnson announced that from that year all future displays would be ticketed and no longer free. Costless travel on the underground for new year ended in 2020 due to financial pressures brought by the pandemic, and has not been reinstated. 

Describing free journeys as a ‘nice little gesture to the people of London’, Mr Dodman went on: ‘But that’s all stopped now and as this is now named The Mayor of London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, it all makes sense.’

Describing his experience at last year’s event, he added: ‘My ticket cost £45 for the green zone, behind the London Eye, where you’re all penned in like sheep.

‘And the last entry is 10:30pm. And now you’re in you’ve got over an hour and a half to kill in a massive crowd.

‘If you’re an anxious person this would be your worst nightmare.’

The content creator went on to say that the ‘only crumbs of comfort’ available for those waiting for the fireworks are portaloos, ‘massive’ queues for a food truck where a burger will set punters back £20.

Images of the truck’s menu show a ‘Big Cheese Burger’ costs £22 with chips another £6.50 on top. Cheesy chips will set customers back £9.50, while a classic cheeseburger comes in at £16.

He added his view of the fireworks was ‘f***ing awful’ and located right in front of a building site.

Images of the truck’s menu show a ‘Big Cheese Burger’ costs £22 with chips another £6.50 on top

The 100,000 people lining the banks of the River Thames this year and millions more watching on the BBC saw thousands of fireworks go off, set to music and with visual animations

Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba in Wicked: For Good, featured in the London 2026 fireworks which some viewers accused of ‘advertising’ the movie

Branding from the movie ‘Wicked: For Good’ was also seen on signage in the area last night

As for the big event itself, Mr Dodman said: ‘The fireworks themselves were, yeah, fireworks, loud and bangy.

‘But I’ve just watched it back on the BBC and this whole thing is definitely set up for TV. We could hardly hear any of the music and got none of the good stuff like Paddington from down here.’

However even after the display was over, according to Mr Dodman his ordeal was far from complete.

He described getting out of the area the ‘worst f***ing bit’ with the Tubes ‘absolutely rammed’, and concluded the whole event was a ‘waste of time’.

Mr Dodman said: ‘This is no exaggeration, it was one of the s****est pointless nights I’ve ever had.’

Many of his followers agreed with the candid review, with one attendee from last year’s event adding: ‘Accurate – I was in the same section and you couldn’t even buy a drink! Not even a bottle of water.’

A second said: ‘I’d rather rip my face off and throw salt on it’.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said today the London firework display is ‘the greatest in the world’ and that the theme for this year’s edition was togetherness. 

He said: ‘We spend a lot of time and effort curating our New Year’s Eve celebrations – the theme of tonight’s celebration is togetherness.

‘I think diversity is a strength not a weakness – it makes us richer not poorer, stronger not weaker. I think you can be a proud Londoner but also someone whose country of origin is somewhere across the globe.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said today the London firework display is ‘the greatest in the world’ and that the theme for this year’s edition was togetherness

More than 12,000 fireworks and more than 400 lights illuminated the night sky around the London Eye, in what is the largest annual firework display in Europe

The production used a technology called hologauze, which uses semi-transparent fabric to create 3D-like visual effects by projecting images onto it (Pictured: London’s NYE fireworks)

‘I’m delighted that we have once again shown why London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations are the greatest in the world.’

But many viewers were less than impressed with the final offering, accusing it of essentially including an advert for the new Wicked movie, released at the end of November. 

The display from the Mayor featured prominent visuals and songs from Wicked: For Good in an ‘event partnership’ between his office and Universal Pictures.

Cynthia Erivo, who stars as Elphaba in the movie, recorded a message encouraging people to ’embrace the magic that we all have inside and come together, for good’.

One tweeted: ‘I found the fireworks boring, and why was there basically an advert for Wicked in the middle?’

Another wrote: ‘The wicked ad in the middle of the fireworks OMFG. Late-stage capitalism has gone too far.’ And a third said: ‘The Wicked ad felt weird though, yes? Why did my fireworks come with a side of marketing?’

The song ‘Defying Gravity’ played as fireworks lit up the sky in the film’s pink and green colours along with images of Elphaba and Glinda, played by Ariana Grande.

The message from Erivo – recently made an MBE – said: ‘Hello fellow Londoners. As we travel the Yellow Brick Road into a New Year, let us stand for positivity and hope, embrace the magic that we all have inside and come together, for good.’

Other viewers pointed out that there was no reference to Ozzy Osbourne after the Black Sabbath heavy metal singer died in July aged 76. 

The production used a technology called hologauze, which uses semi-transparent fabric to create 3D-like visual effects by projecting images onto it.

Some of the images displayed during the fireworks celebrated some of the highlights of the year, including celebrating England’s women’s rugby team winning the world cup and the Lionesses’ victory at the Euros – as well as the men’s Ryder cup success. 

The display was set to a soundtrack which also included the likes of Raye, Sabrina Carpenter, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay and featuring voice overs from Celia Imrie, Andrew Cotter and Alison Hammond. 

More than 12,000 fireworks and more than 400 lights illuminated the night sky around the London Eye, in what is the largest annual firework display in Europe.

As well as celebrating national achievements of the last 12 months, the display also referenced last summer being the UK’s hottest on record and featured a nod to the social media ‘tea-time alarm’ meme that suggested there is a daily alarm reminding British people to enjoy a cup of tea.