Last week the Mayor announced that the annual event would be ticketed for the first time in its history following advice from Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police.
According to City Hall, the two agencies expressed concern about the safety of crowds, which last year exceed 500,000, and the ability to disperse them after the event had finished.
Each of the 100,000 tickets will be subject to a £10 an “administration fee” which the Mayor’s office insists will only cover the costs of the ticketing system. Tickets can be booked online at www.london.gov.uk/nye.
The decision to introduce ticketing was criticised by London Assembly members and several potential Mayoral candidates.
Green Party AM Darren Johnson said the Mayor should consider sponsoring local fireworks displays across the capital to ensure those who couldn’t attend the central London event could still mark the New Year at a safe event.
Labour’s City Hall leader Len Duvall, and Liberal Democrat AM Caroline Pidgeon both expressed concern that the fee could price out families.
David Lammy MP, who recently confirmed his ambitions to become Labour’s 2016 Mayoral candidate, said the display’s appeal was that it was “a free & festive gathering open to all, not a sterile ticketed show.”
Another potential Labour candidate, Dame Tessa Jowell said the adoption of tickets “will end the idea of inclusive not exclusive, something for everyone, free London.”
