LIB DEM REPORT SLAMS 5 YEARS OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATION FAILURES

9.46.13am GMT Mon 22nd Nov 2004

With less than 6 weeks to go before 2005, the London Assembly Liberal Democrats today published a new report into the five years of failure by Ken Livingstone to sort out New Year's Eve celebrations for Londoners and asks why no-one knows what is happening this year.

The report, Party Pooper, highlights the failure of the Mayor to publicise an event for this year despite £1million of taxpayers money having been allocated to it; the inability to organise a single New Year event for Londoners in the last five years and looks at the success of other cities celebrations across the world for tourists, TV and residents.

The Lib Dem report has also put forward a series of recommendations, including:

· The introduction of a ticketed party for Trafalgar Square

· Advertising the main events for London at least six months in advance

· At least 18 months planning to get celebrations that are fit for the capital

Liberal Democrat Culture Spokesperson, Dee Doocey, said:-

"Every year we have the same old story of Londoners money spent on celebrations they cannot take part in. To fail to organise one New Year celebration is excusable but to be unable to arrange and event for Londoners by the fifth attempt is staggering.

"This year, Mr Livingstone seems to want to hold a secret New Year party for London which none of us are invited to. There has been no advertising, no publicity and no promotion. Almost every other major city in the Western World has managed to plan and deliver celebrations months in advance, that both their communities and the people watching on TV can enjoy, so why can't London?

"It is time that Mr Livingstone looked at putting on a ticketed event for London in Trafalgar Square so that revellers have the chance to enjoy the party safely and in spectacular style.

"The Mayor must give the capital a proper knees up next year, otherwise the capital could yet again be left with celebrations for TV and commiserations for Londoners."

ENDS

Notes to editor

A copy ot the report is below

Party-pooper

A Report on New Year's Eve Celebrations in London

A report by Culture Spokesperson Dee Doocey AM

22nd November 2004

Executive Summary

London is less than 6 weeks away from New Year's Eve and as cities across the world gear up to celebrate, the Mayor is yet to announce any official celebration in London.

For the fifth year running, the Mayor has failed to stage a celebration for Londoners, despite allocating £1million of taxpayers money to the festivities.

The Mayor should take responsibility for organising a world-class New Year's event with the following components:

Ø A free ticketed concert in Trafalgar Square.

Ø Based on the model of New York (Times Square), the surrounding streets would be filled with revellers in viewing sections bit by bit, as the night progresses.

Ø Large screens within Trafalgar Square to display fireworks at the London Eye and show Big Ben for the countdown to midnight.

Ø Tickets to be made available through a draw, advertised in the media and on the GLA website. Entry into the draw opened by 1st September.

Ø Sponsorship for the event secured early within the process.

Ø Information about the event to be clearly publicised well in advance.

1/ The context

With less than 6 weeks to go before New Year's Eve many Londoners will be wondering what event the Mayor has planned for Trafalgar Square or alternative locations in the capital but so far, no firm details have emerged.

In December 2002 the London Assembly published a report criticising the Mayor for his lack of leadership and argued that his vision for future New Year's Eve events was too limited. The report set out a number of recommendations which called on the Mayor to organise an event which matched Londoners aspirations. Many will be disappointed to hear that for the fifth year running the Mayor has failed to take the lead in organising a world-class event which allows people to gather and celebrate in style.

New York, Edinburgh and Sydney all have celebrations fitting of a world city, with thousands of people gathering to welcome in the New Year. These cities put in months of organisation and planning to mark the event in spectacular fashion. Sponsorship and security arrangements are in place well in advance. By comparison, the Mayor is likely to advise Londoners to stay at home in front of the television.

Londoners deserve a New Year's party to rival other cities around the world.

2/ The annual disappointment

· 31st December 2000

The Mayor inherited plans for New Year's Eve celebrations but decided to cancel the event in November 2000. Cancelling the event cost in the region of £800,000.

· 31st December 2001

No official celebration was organised by the Mayor.

· 31st December 2002

The Mayor advised Londoners to stay at home for New Year's Eve. In late October 2002 it was announced that Trafalgar Square would be closed on 31st and the Mayor suggested that revellers would have 'more fun at home'. The Mayor knew about the closure of Trafalgar Square as far back as 2000 so there was plenty of time to explore alternative venues. Instead no event was organised. When asked about celebrations in Trafalgar Square the Mayor's Events manager said "Trafalgar Square on New Year's Eve is not an event; it's a public order problem."

· 31st December 2003

New Year's Eve was marked by a very brief fireworks display at the London Eye. Spectators were discouraged from coming into London to witness the fireworks close up. Millions of pounds worth of public money was invested in encouraging tourists to come to the capital for the New Year period even though no specific celebration was organised by the GLA (other than the fireworks).

3/ This year

So far the Mayor has revealed no plans for an organised New Year's Eve party for the capital. Although a very brief fireworks display is again planned beside the London Eye this is designed to market London as an international city and is not viewed as a party for Londoners. A total budget of £1m has been set aside to 'mark midnight' in this way - £200,000 from the GLA and £800,000 through the London Development Agency. The successful contractor is also required to contribute an additional £200,000 to the event with the help of the Mayor's sponsorship team.

No official statement has been released to inform Londoners whether Trafalgar Square will be open or closed off on New Year's Eve.

4/ Edinburgh - a comparison

The Edinburgh New Year's Eve celebrations, known as 'Hogmanay' are world famous. There has been an organised street party in the centre of Edinburgh every year since 1993. This ticket-only event is sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland and attracts 100,000 people each year. Tickets are allocated on a first come, first served basis and partygoers are able to book tickets on line, over the phone, over the counter or by post. Tickets are normally made available in October.

Last year Edinburgh's Hogmanay brought £34million to the city's economy and £41million to the whole of Scotland.

Over 12,000 people take to the streets of Edinburgh with a torch as part of the annual torchlight procession and a range of activities were spread out over a number of days.

Visitors to this year's event can expect to see 8 tonnes of fireworks launched from 7 sites throughout the Edinburgh.

Picture courtesy of City of Edinburgh Council

5/ New York - a comparison

One of the largest New Year's celebrations in the world takes place in New York where approximately half a million people fill Times Square and the surrounding streets. These celebrations started off in 1904 when the owners of One Times Square began conducting rooftop celebrations to usher in the New Year.

The festivities start at 5pm and revellers are directed by the NYPD to gather in separate viewing sections. As one section fills up, the public are directed by police to the next viewing section.

Celebrations centre around Times Square where a Waterford Crystal Ball descends at the stroke of midnight. The lighted Ball descends 77 feet in sixty seconds. The Ball is a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, weighing approximately 1,070 pounds, covered with 504 Waterford crystal triangles, 696 multicoloured Philips light bulbs, 96 high intensity strobe lights, and 90 rotating pyramid mirrors. It's been a tradition to lower the ball since 1907.

A spectacular fireworks display strategically positioned on top of

One Times Square brilliantly illuminates the sky. Over 1200 fireworks are included and it takes 150 man-hours to set up.

The world-famous New Year's Eve confetti is released from rooftop setbacks of buildings throughout Times Square creating a celebratory blizzard of colourful confetti as revellers greet the New Year.

The New York example shows that it is possible to police a large-scale event in a city which is on high-security alert. Attendees must pass through a metal detector to watch the descent of the Waterford crystal New Year's Eve ball.

6/ Introducing a ticketed event

One way to plan and manage an event in central London would be to have a ticketed event. This would allow authorities to predict and plan for large numbers of revellers. Any who are not lucky enough to not get a ticket through the draw could still enjoy the celebrations in the surrounding streets. This model works successfully in New York - with the areas around Times Square filled in viewing sections, bit by bit over the course of the evening as revellers arrive.

There are clearly valuable lessons to be learnt from New York both in relation to securing private sponsorship for such an event and managing security.

Ticketed events have taken place in central London before. On 31st August 2003 a free concert took place in Trafalgar Square, with performers including David Gray. The event was organised by Visit London to kick-start the Totally London Tour. 12,000 tickets were made available through a draw advertised in the media and the GLA website.

Other events have been organised in the street party model before including the Golden Jubilee, the Olympics Concert in the Mall and welcome home celebration for the Rugby World Cup team.

Although New Year's Eve presents some particular challenges, we believe that the Mayor could have more vision and that the possibility of an organised event has not been fully explored.

7/ Recommendations

That the Mayor takes responsibility for organising a world-class New Year's event with the following components:

· A free ticketed concert in Trafalgar Square.

· The surrounding streets to be filled with revellers in viewing sections bit by bit, as the night progresses - based on the model of New York (Times Square and the surrounding streets).

· Large screens within Trafalgar Square to display fireworks at the London Eye and show Big Ben for the countdown to midnight.

· Tickets to be made available through a draw, advised in the media and on the GLA website. Entry into the draw opened by 1st September.

· Sponsorship for the event secured.

· Information about the event to be clearly publicised well in advance.

22 November 2004