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Forget New Year's Eve, it's the day after which is one of the best nights of the year
Evening Standard
|January 03, 2024
I'M not being funny but... New Year's Eve is overrated. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing in a new chapter each year but the expense of it all has made it a luxury rather than a "mere" privilege. Without wanting to generalise too much, real Londoners don't go all out on NYE.
The fireworks used to be a lovely way to unite the city in a spectacle known the world over. Now the display costs £20 per person and has been a ticketed event for the past seven years. Community feel is priceless and, let's face it, we need it now more than ever. Because it's now a ticketed show, the event has become a tourist attraction more than anything and it's certainly lost that community charm in the process.
At least the fact it's still such an important event for the city and brings so many people into town is a positive.
The show this year, while chaotic, was still a stunning sight to behold.
With central London shut down, the late-night Tube is a great benefit to take advantage of, and the only viable mode of transport considering road closures and immense surcharges on cabs. It's great that the Mayor of London is continuing to offer this, although it's yet another service that's no longer free.
For me as a DJ, this big night out brings with it a mountain of social anxiety. It can be a licence for trouble. It's truly a c***s night out, almost as if people have been building up their twatness (is that a word?) all year round in order to get it all out in one evening.
This story is from the January 03, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
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