New Year fireworks planned

After a three-year wait, London is to stage a fireworks spectacular on New Year's Eve. Costing £330,000 and set against the backdrop of the London Eye and Big Ben, the display will be beamed around the globe alongside images from other major world cities.

But the festivities will be missing one vital ingredient: Londoners themselves.

Despite much of the cost of the spectacle being met by taxpayers, Mayor Ken Livingstone has told them to watch it on TV for fear of overcrowding along the Thames ruining the effect.

The event - which will last for only two to three minutes - has been devised to create a memorable New Year's image for London to compete with New York, Sydney and Paris.

But in order to avoid the chaos that ruined Millennium Eve for thousands, Mr Livingstone wants to deter people from watching the spectacle unfold in person.

He fears a major publicsafety risk - as happened in 2000, when thousands packed the bridges and there was serious overcrowding on the Underground. Similar safety concerns led to the 2001 event being cancelled, while last year was blighted by Trafalgar Square roadworks.

Mr Livingstone has agreed to erect large TV screens in Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square.

"If two million people turn up we are not able to cope with that," he said. "We have a very constricted space along the Embankment between Waterloo and Westminster bridges. We would be mad to put people's lives at risk. We came very close to tragedy on Millennium Eve."

Dismissing claims that he had failed to keep Londoners informed, he said: "We want everybody to have a good night but we are not putting on a party on the South Bank."

Organisers said they had too little time to put on a major event this year but promised one next year. David Campbell, chief executive of Visit London, the city's tourism agency, said: "Last year's image of London at New Year was a single pigeon in Trafalgar Square, so what we want to do is create a better international image of London."

Visit London is spending £1.8 million attracting UK and European tourists over Christmas. Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate, said: "It is ludicrous that Londoners are not even invited."

Meanwhile, union activists are threatening to destroy plans for free all-night Tube travel on New Year's Eve.

The Transport and Salaried Staffs Association says its station staff will refuse to work that night, claiming too few are rostered for safety.

A second dispute involves a £175 bonus for station staff who volunteer to work on New Year's Eve. London Underground says drivers won't get the bonus because they are covered by an earlier agreement with enhanced pay. Drivers' union Aslef said LU had agreed to the bonus but had then withdrawn it. LU said talks are "ongoing".