London's main New Year's Eve fireworks display is launched around the London Eye on the South Bank.
The London Eye is a large observation wheel on the River Thames, opposite the Palace of Westminster. Its position and height make it a prominent feature of the televised celebration, while fireworks are also fired from barges on the river and from nearby points along the embankment.
London's modern midnight fireworks became a major annual public spectacle in the early twenty-first century. The event is organized by the Mayor of London and has used ticketed viewing areas because the riverside can attract very large crowds. Broadcast coverage has made the display familiar to audiences well beyond the United Kingdom.
Big Ben is often associated with the countdown because its clock tower provides the midnight chimes, but it is not the principal launch site for the fireworks. The tower was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012, while Big Ben properly refers to the great bell inside it.