London's new year fireworks axed due to pandemic

London mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday that the British capital's New Year's Eve fireworks display, which annually attracts tens of thousands of people, will not go ahead on December 31 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"There will not be fireworks on New Year's Eve this year like in previous years," he told LBC radio.

"We simply can't afford to have the numbers of people who congregate on New Year's Eve congregating." 

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Khan added his administration was working on creating a celebratory event that people could "enjoy in the comfort and safety of their living rooms on TV".

Britain has been the worst-hit country in Europe by the coronavirus pandemic, with the government counting nearly 42,000 deaths from Covid-19.

The government has warned it could re-impose a national lockdown across England if new social curbs in the worst-affected areas fail to stem a resurgence in cases.

Agence France-Presse