London politicians are no strangers to seeing fireworks. But this year’s annual New Year’s Eve shindig was a somewhat more muted affair than usual, after mayor Sadiq Khan ordered the last-minute cancellation of events in central London in response to a surge in the Omicron variant, despite the NYE celebrations being, er, almost entirely outdoors.
Those who wished to see the fireworks instead had to make do with watching the BBC’s coverage at home, featuring a dreadful, trite opening monologue over an army of drones spelling out the letters ‘NHS’. The announcement was yet another blow to the capital’s much-damaged industries, as Khan himself noted at the time, when he admitted that:
Our world-renowned retail, hospitality, tourism, nightlife and cultural businesses are already suffering from the impact of the latest wave of Covid cases during what is usually their busiest time of the year.
Now, new figures obtained by Mr S reveal just how much was shelled out by the cash-strapped Greater London Authority, as it mulls whether to shut down multiple tube lines to bail out Transport for London. More than £1.5 million was spent on the total cost of the New Year’s Eve show, including the cost of ‘fireworks, drones, lighting and all the health and safety measures’ – even though the mayor had vetoed mass meetings to commemorate the advent of 2022.
All this was apparently necessary to ‘ensure a safe, as well as spectacular, show.’ The GLA have a wonderful new habit of signing off their replies to Freedom of Information requests with a self-justificatory spiel so Steerpike can reveal the reasons for the seven-figure spend for the enjoyment of just a handful of in-person spectators. These include the ‘significant media value to the promotion of London as a tourist destination’ and that ‘the total financial benefits to London far outweigh the public expenditure incurred.’ Hmmm.
Here’s hoping that this year’s bash actually lets some people see it in public too!
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