Thousands find out city’s New Year fireworks were just fake news at midnight

Thousands of revellers in Birmingham were disappointed at the stroke of midnight when a New Year firework display turned out to be fake news.

AI posts on social media had convinced many residents that the city was hosting its first official display in a decade – and it was going to be spectacular.

Instead, the beginning of 2025 was marked by cheers and a solitary firework let off by someone in the crowd.

Officers from West Midlands Police were sent to break the unfortunate news to those gathered, but a large number decided to stick around to soak up the community atmosphere regardless.

Birmingham Superintendent Emlyn Richards said: ‘There are rumours online that a fireworks display will take place in Centenary Square but there isn’t a planned event this year.

‘We don’t want people travelling into the city to be disappointed when they arrive and discover this is the case.’

In London, a stunning firework display reputed to be the biggest in Europe lit up the skyline as the UK welcomed in the New Year.

The River Thames and the London Eye were illuminated with the colourful light show, accompanied by music and the familiar bongs of Big Ben.

Celebrations at the Primrose Hill viewpoint in north London were marred by a dangerous driving incident in which a pedestrian received minor injuries. A man has been arrested.

Meanwhile, huge crowds braved relentless rain in Manchester to watch the city’s display.

While several big events went ahead as planned, other major displays such as Edinburgh’s Hogmanay event were forced to cancel due to the terrible weather.

With Scotland facing an amber weather warning for rain, organisers of the event at Edinburgh Castle made the difficult decision to call it off.

Displays in Blackpool, Newcastle and Ripon were also cancelled.

The Met Office anticipates ‘disruptive’ and potentially hazardous weather over the next few days, with warnings for rain, snow and wind covering most of the UK at various times.

Chief forecaster Andy Page said: ‘There is a very complicated weather forecast for the UK with snow, strong winds and heavy rain all feature for parts of the UK.

‘Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning during the coming week.

‘With such a varied and complex weather situation there is potential for the pattern of warnings to shift and possibly escalate in some areas.

‘With lots of celebrations and people on the move over the coming days, we are urging everyone to keep checking the forecast so they can update their plans.’

Auckland, New Zealand was the first major city to enter 2025 at 11am GMT.

Australia started to celebrate from 1pm London time, with Japan and South Korea entering 2025 at 3pm.

However celebrations in South Korea have been cut back or cancelled as the country observes a period of national mourning following the crash on Sunday of a Jeju Air flight at Muan that killed 179 people.

China celebrated the new year at 4pm GMT, followed by Thailand at 5pm, Bangladesh at 6pm, Moscow at 9pm, Greece at 10pm, Germany at 11pm, before Big Ben started to ring out for us at midnight London time.

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