'Safe and successful' New Year in UK despite security fears
Police are turning their attention to London's New Year's Day parade, which is set to be attended by 500,000 people.
Sunday 1 January 2017 11:50, UK
London's New Year celebrations have been described as "safe and successful" by police after 110,000 people gathered along the River Thames to watch a 12-minute fireworks spectacular.
Officers made 33 arrests by 3am, mainly in connection with assaults and public order offences.
A raft of additional security measures had been put in place on New Year's Eve to protect crowds, including concrete bollards and armed police patrols, amid concerns that London could be susceptible to a terror attack.
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![The London Eye lights up in style]()
Image: The London Eye lights up in style to welcome 2017 -
![A lucky ticketholder for London's sold-out New Year show takes a photo of the London Eye]()
Image: A lucky ticketholder for London's sold-out New Year show takes a photo of the London Eye -
![New Year's fireworks in London]()
Image: Big Ben heralded the New Year, watched by millions around the globe -
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Image: The fireworks in central London went on for 14 minutes -
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Image: The stunning view towards the Thames during the display -
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Image: The soundtrack for the spectacular included hits by Prince, Walk The Moon and Frankie Goes To Hollywood -
![Thousands of people lined the banks of the Thames to watch the display]()
Image: Thousands of people lined the banks of the Thames to watch the display -
![The display began as Big Ben chimed midnight]()
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![The London Eye erupts in a blaze of excitement]()
Image: The London Eye erupts in a blaze of excitement -
![Crowds line the Victoria Embankment to watch the fireworks]()
Image: Crowds crammed onto the Victoria Embankment -
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Image: The fireworks and music show ended with Auld Lang Syne and thousands of people waving their mobile phones as torches
For the first time, armed officers were also deployed on London Underground trains throughout the night.
British Transport Police officers worked extended hours on New Year's Eve for the second year in a row.
After the celebrations ended, Detective Superintendent Phil Langworthy said: "Once again, the eyes of the world were on London and a truly spectacular event has been delivered here."
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Work to keep London safe has not ended - with police working through the night to get the streets back to normal in time for the New Year's Day parade later.
More than 500,000 spectators are expected to attend the parade, now in its 31st year, with more than 8,000 performers taking part in the procession from Piccadilly to Parliament Square.
Those who managed to get a ticket to London's sold-out event last night will not be forgetting the extravagant fireworks display soon.
The pyrotechnic extravaganza boasted 12,000 fireworks which produced 50,000 projectiles - all fired from the London Eye as well as three barges and 14 pontoons on the Thames.
It cost £1.8m to produce, and also featured tributes to some of the stars who died over the past 12 months.
Before the display began, London Mayor Sadiq Khan had told Sky News: "Our police and security services do an amazing job learning the lessons from some horrific incidents in other cities around the world - Berlin recently, Nice earlier this year, Paris last year.
"We've got to make sure we don't allow terrorists or people who want to destroy our way of life to stop us enjoying what's going to be a great night."
Even though London's display came hours before New York and Washington waved goodbye to 2016, Mr Khan said the fireworks would be better than "any city in the world".
In Edinburgh, an estimated 80,000 revellers took to the streets for the city's world-renowned Hogmanay celebrations - enjoying three fireworks shows ahead of the Midnight Moment from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle.
There was also live music in the Scottish capital from The Charlatans and Paolo Nutini.