The London Eye has hosted London’s best-known New Year’s Eve fireworks display since the early 2000s.
The giant observation wheel stands on the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the Palace of Westminster. Its position provides a prominent landmark for the televised countdown and fireworks staged over the river.
London’s modern large-scale fireworks tradition began around the turn of the millennium. The display expanded into a major ticketed event with viewing areas along the Thames and coordinated fireworks launched from barges, bridges, and the London Eye itself.
Big Ben is also closely associated with the countdown because its clock marks midnight, but it is not the landmark around which the main fireworks display is staged. The London Eye opened to the public in 2000 and quickly became a defining part of the city’s New Year imagery.