Full listing of cities which have cancelled New Year fireworks as Newcastle turns into newest to name off occasion beneath risk of torrential rain and gale-force winds – as Edinburgh axes Hogmanay celebrations whereas London chiefs look nervously on the forecasts

Newcastle has become the latest city to cancel its New Year’s fireworks display – as Britain braces for washout tonight, with gales and torrential rain set to batter the UK. 

Firework displays have already been axed across the country after the Met Office issued a rare amber rain warning and five yellow ones.

Organisers in Newcastle said its two planned spectacles at 6pm and midnight have been pulled amid mounting safety concerns. 

‘Safety always comes first, and the forecast has made it clear that continuing would pose risks to those attending, as well as our event teams working on-site,’ Newcastle City Council said in a statement today. 

The horrendous weather conditions have already prompted Edinburgh to axe its popular Hogmanay outdoor celebrations.

Meanwhile in London, the capital’s New Year’s Eve fireworks bonanza is hanging in the balance, with organisers and City Hall officials ‘monitoring the weather’. 

Current forecasts predict gusts of 47mph for 11pm and midnight, with the show’s boss, Darryl Fleming, saying he is ‘just a bit nervous’ and that the ‘big enemy is the wind’.

Organisers of the display – regularly attended by more than 100,000 people – have already altered the angle of the fireworks ‘slightly into the wind, so we can increase that safety distance’. 

Newcastle has become the latest city to cancel its New Year’s fireworks show due to the weather (pictured is a previous event at Newcastle)

London’s NYE fireworks display is also hanging in the balance, with organisers ‘nervously’ watching the weather forecast. Pictured are fireworks exploding around the London Eye at last year’s celebrations

Insisting he was still ‘looking forward to delivering a full show’, Mr Fleming told BBC London: ‘The big enemy is the wind, so we have to plan for that in the design stage.

‘We monitor the wind from a week out, we are looking at and monitoring the weather conditions.

‘The [wind] direction is in the right direction, and if we need to curtail parts of the show, we can do that, we have all those plans in place.’

It comes as Storm Eowyn could be named by the Met Office today as the latest weather system to batter the UK. 

Separately, Blackpool Council confirmed it had taken the ‘tough decision’ to axe its fireworks due to the winds, but a projection show set to music will still take place.

Ripon, in North Yorkshire, also saw its fireworks event canned due to the weather, with the local city council announcing the news earlier today. Two displays in Newcastle have been cancelled as well. 

Organisers of the Beaumaris Fireworks show, in off the coast in north Wales, have also cancelled their show, due to the weather.

It comes as the Met Office warned ‘blizzard conditions are possible’, especially in the far northern regions of Sutherland and Caithness, in Scotland.

Edinburgh’s traditional Hogmanay outdoor celebrations, including it’s fireworks show, have been cancelled this New Year’s due to poor weather (pictured is last year’s event)

Revellers hoping to attend tonight’s Hogmanay festivities in Edinburgh have been left disappointed (pictured)

Hogmanay fireball swingers illuminate the streets of Stonehaven carrying on the tradition of welcoming the new year January 1, 2004

The organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay have issued an apology to international tourists who have travelled to the Scottish capital for the street party and midnight fireworks show, which were both cancelled on Monday.

An Indian tourist who travelled with his wife and four children to the city for the celebrations told Good Morning Britain they are ‘very disappointed’.

He added: ‘We were in London and we came here just for Hogmanay.’

Another visitor described the decision as ‘heart-breaking’, while his travel companion added: ‘It’s super disappointing. We are trying to figure out something else to do but we are totally clueless.’

Scottish Culture Secretary Angus Robertson defended the ‘undoubtedly’ correct decision to cancel.

He told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The organisers believe that they took the decision quite early for the reason that they wanted to be able to communicate to people who have been travelling now.

‘I would stress whilst it is hugely disappointing that the events as planned in Princes Street, in the old town, over by the castle, the concert by Texas and so on, are not going ahead, there will be lots happening in Edinburgh.

‘There will be all kinds of events, the pubs and clubs will be open.

‘I’m truly sorry for everybody who has travelled but I think given the extent of the weather forecast – it’s really, really bad in some parts of the country – it’s not the right thing to proceed.’

Meanwhile, those seeking to attend other festivities will face travel hell amid strike action by railway staff. 

A surfer catches a wave in the high winds at Tynemouth Longsands on the north east coast of England

Waves crash over Newhaven Lighthouse and the breakwater in Newhaven, southern England

A woman holds onto her umbrella in Edinburgh as the city faces wet and windy weather

Avanti West Coast managers will be staging industrial action today and on Thursday as part of a row over rest-day working.

Avanti strongly advised its customers to travel either side of the strikes, saying that a ‘significantly reduced’ timetable will be in place on the two strike days. Fewer services will run during limited operating hours, and trains which do run will be busy.

Train operator ScotRail said its services are being disrupted by speed restrictions on many routes because of ‘very heavy rainfall’, with speed restriction in place on some lines.

The routes affected are between: Inverness and Perth; Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh; Inverness and Wick; Perth and Stirling; Edinburgh and Inverness; Glasgow Queen Street, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth; and Glasgow Queen Street, Oban and Mallaig.

Network Rail said it has closed the Highland Main Line at Kingussie because of ‘more extreme rainfall overnight’. It also closed the line north of Inverness, between Muir of Ord and Dingwall.

Meanwhile, dramatic footage filmed at the Gynack Burn at Kingussie shows flood water spilling out onto the railway line, forcing the closure of the Highland Main Line. 

In London, there are delays on the Elizabeth Line to and from Heathrow after a train fault. And central London bridges will start closing from midday.

Dramatic footage filmed at the Gynack Burn at Kingussie shows flood water spilling out onto the railway line, forcing the closure of the Highland Main Line

An Avanti West Coast Class 807 train arrives at Liverpool Lime Street station (file picture)

Avanti West Coast has advised of a limited service on the two RMT strike days this week

And there is chaos on the roads, too, with the inclement conditions affecting some of the nation’s major highways. 

The A66 is closed to ‘high-sided and vulnerable vehicles’ in both directions between the M6 in Penrith and Scotch Corner.

Drivers planning to cross the Pennines are advised to consider alternative routes such as the A69. 

Three out of four lanes on the M6 northbound in Cheshire are closed from J17 to J18 because of an overturned lorry, causing a mile-and-a-half tailback.

Forth Road Bridge closed to double decker buses, and snow gates closed on A939 between Tomintoul and Cock Bridge.

A ‘danger to life’ flood warning had been issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) covering parts of Aviemore and Carrbridge. 

Sepa issued an alert for ‘severe’ flooding just after 6am, telling residents in the Aviemore and Dalfaber areas to ‘act now’; however, this was downgraded by 7.45am with no ‘severe’ flood warnings in place.

Highlands Council had previously advised guests staying at Aviemore Holiday Park to seek alternative accommodation due to the ‘imminent’ risk of flooding, while Sepa had predicted that evacuations were expected.

The watchdog previously said river levels began to rise on Tuesday morning, rather than overnight as expected.

Sepa added: ‘Overnight, water levels on the River Spey did not rise as expected. It did begin to rise early on Tuesday morning and that will continue into the day. Less rain fell overnight than was forecast, but is continuing to affect the area.’

But by 7.45am, there were no ‘severe’ flood warnings in Scotland and the warning was downgraded.

However, 31 flood warnings were issued by Sepa, and 10 flood alerts were issued.

Cars driving in foggy conditions on the M20 near Folkestone in Kent on December 29

The weather has also led to organisers of the New Year’s Day Swim in Lyme Regis cancelling tomorrow’s event, due to the strong winds. 

Two other traditional New Year’s Day charity swims off the Welsh coast have also been called off because the dire weather warning.

Hundreds were expected for the annual swim off the coast of Britain’s smallest city of St Davids in Pembrokeshire.

But the yellow weather warning for strong winds the organisers of the swim along with the nearby Angle New Year’s Day Dip to scrap them.

The Angle event, being held in aid of the Paul Sartori Foundation, has now been postponed to Saturday February 1.

The organisers posted: ‘Due to a Yellow Weather Warning, and for the safety of our participants, volunteers, and staff who are our top priority, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Paul Sartori Foundation, Angle New Year’s Day Dip to Saturday, 1st February 2025. The exact time will be confirmed soon.’

St Davids Penknife Club said of their swim at Whitesands: ‘Sadly we are cancelling the event for safety reasons given the weather forecast. The quiz will still be going ahead in the Farmers Arms.

‘Our main objective will be to raise money for as many local causes as we can. We are looking still to raise money so any donations would be greatly appreciated.’ 

The weather has also led to organisers of the New Year’s Day Swim in Lyme Regis cancelling tomorrow’s event, due to the strong winds. Pictured is 2024’s New Year’s Day Swim there

A dog walker covers their face as sand is whipped up by the wind on the beach today

Waves crashing into the shore in high winds on Cleveleys Beach near Blackpool

A homemade boat race set to be held in Poole, Dorset, on New Year’s Day has been cancelled.

‘Unfortunately the Bathtub Race is now cancelled due to the severity of the swell of the water forecast for New Year’s Day and the incapability of the Rescue Ribs to launch,’ Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council said.

Sandown Carnival on the Isle of Wight has also said that it will postpone its fireworks display planned for New Year’s Day because of the ‘predicted wind speeds’ and poor conditions for creating the firework stations on the pier.

The organisers said in a statement: ‘Combined with high tide and likely rough sea conditions, it would not be safe for them to attempt the build. Of course, safety comes first and we regret having to take this decision.’

The Met Office amber weather warning predicts rain on New Year’s Eve in the Highlands, with a yellow weather warning for snow covering Glasgow and another yellow warning for snow covering Orkney.

Eight inches of snow is expected to blanket parts of the warning zone. 

Met Office expert Craig Snell said: ‘Another system is moving in from the Atlantic.

Workers try to repair a fence today, damaged by high winds at Edinburgh Christmas Market 

A woman’s hair is blown across her face as people walk in strong winds in Edinburgh

The City of London skyline is obscured by fog in the capital on a very misty day

‘Scotland bearing the brunt of this one with some further heavy rain and snow and strong winds.

‘The winds are also picking up for Northern Ireland and northern England through New Year’s Eve as well.

‘It will basically be quite an unsettled last day of the year for the northern half of the UK.’

‘To the south, we will see some rain later on New Year’s Eve, but it shouldn’t cause too many problems.

‘Apart from if you’re out celebrating – you might get a bit damp.

‘With the multiple hazards going on across the UK, I think we can probably expect some travel delays right across the UK.’

The weather mayhem comes after days of heavy fog blanketed the UK, causing disruption at airports nationwide.