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Labour call for more fireworks tickets to be released as Boris urges crowds to stay away

December 18, 2014 by Martin Hoscik

Image: Dawid Lech / Shutterstock
Image: Dawid Lech / Shutterstock
City Hall is warning revellers not to try entering the South Bank or Victoria Embankment on News Year’s Eve unless they’ve already bought a ticket for the capital’s fireworks display.

The event has traditionally been free but in September Mayor Boris Johnson announced entry would only be granted to those who bought a £10 ticket.

Mr Johnson said he took the decision after the Met, Transport for London and London Ambulance service expressed concern about public safety after around 500,000 attempted to watch last year’s display.

All of the 100,000 of the tickets have now been sold and the Mayor’s office says anyone without a ticket will not be allowed into the reserved area and should make alternative plans to see in 2015.

Londoners and visitors are also being warned not to buy tickets from touts and re-sale websites as ID in the name of the original buyer will be needed to gain entry.

Mr Johnson has been criticised for not doing enough to deter the re-salling of tickets which are now available online for hundreds of pounds.

Labour at City Hall have also expressed concern that organisers could be overwhelmed if large numbers of people turn up without a ticket.

Fiona Twycross AM said: “Half a million people attended last year but for 2014 only 100,000 tickets were put on sale. With that amount of unmet demand this event was always going to be a ticket tout’s dream.

“The Mayor should seriously consider whether 100,000 is really the maximum capacity for this event and if not release the additional tickets.”

In response to Ms Tywycross’s comments, a spokesperson for the Mayor said: “We have done everything we can to reduce the possibility of reselling, which affects almost every ticketed major event in the country.

“This includes limiting the number of tickets bought to a maximum of four per person and making it clear that tickets are non-transferable and ID is required matching the lead name on the tickets. We offered refunds up to 3 December.

“We also held back a number of tickets, which were released on a daily basis from 1-15 December to give people more opportunities to apply for tickets.

“There is no legislation in place to halt it completely and it is disappointing that some are attempting to profiteer from the event, resulting in others missing out.”

As in past years, all TfL services will be free between 23:45 on December 31st and 04:30 on New Year’s Day.

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Filed Under: News

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