A sad but unsurprising update for you.
The signs felt pretty ominous from the moment London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks were cancelled last month, and they’ve not got better in the weeks since. Owing to the difficulty of hosting large-scale gatherings in the time of coronavirus, all of London’s major fireworks displays have been cancelled for Bonfire Night 2020. We’ve scanned and scoured high and low, but haven’t found even a single display taking place this year, with large crowds almost certain to be drawn by the sight of colourful rockets filling the sky. With the pandemic still posing a huge threat, the risk to Londoners’ safety is simply too high for the usual cohort of fireworks displays to happen.
So, in north London, Alexandra Palace announced that they couldn’t make their fireworks display financially viable whilst still keeping people safe, and Harrow fireworks have also confirmed their cancellation. Out west, the lovely Ravenscourt Park display won’t happen, whilst east London displays in Victoria Park and Clissold Park have also had the chop. Bearing the brunt of the cancellations is south London, where displays in Crystal Palace, Battersea, Wimbledon, Morden, Southwark, and the fab free display on Blackheath, have all been cancelled.
Any fireworks you see come November 5 are likely to be those launched from private gardens – if you happen to be planning your own display, please bear in mind that London is now under Tier 2 restrictions (read all about that here) which limit the number of people you can have in your house and garden. It’s far better to be safe than sorry, so stay safe this Bonfire Night, and let’s look forward to the grand return of these displays in 2021.