Boris takes a tenner for New Year fireworks

Tickets for the London Mayor’s New Year fireworks are now on sale. This year, the tickets are priced at £10. As 100,000 happy revellers are expected to attend the event should bring in £1 million. The London Mayor says no profit is made from the tickets, which the income just covering the costs of staging the event, which he lists as printing, distribution, on the ground ticket checks and extra infrastructure including additional fencing, stewards and toilets.

Business are also being invited to sponsor the event. Boris says that the event will be seen by 100,000 people in the audience and by a TV audience of 16.1 million people in the UK and a further one billion around the world. Sponsors, Boris says, will be reaching a large audience (clearly) but will be helping to promote Unicef’s work. Does that mean that what businesses pay is needed to cover the costs of the event? Who knows?

This year the fireworks are being staged in conjunction with Unicef under the heading “Big Resolution”. First, we have to acknowledge that the folks down at Unicef are very good eggs. The charity works for more children in more countries than any other organisation. It ensures more of the world’s children are fed, vaccinated, educated and protected than any other organisation and claims that it has influenced more laws, policies and customs to help protect children than anyone else in history. Unicef UK carries out a great deal of work in the UK on these lines.

Boris says the partnership with Unicef will “bring a new dimension to the acclaimed event”. However, this charity will not be getting any income from the ticket sales (as this money is needed to cover the costs of the event: how, then, will they benefit? The event is being billed as “ the first ever New Year’s ‘Big Resolution’” – which will be “a unifying moment aimed at raising awareness and bringing lasting change to the lives of vulnerable children around the world”. Unicef hopes the “moment” will raise funds “to help children caught in wars and disasters around the world, like the one in Syria.” Boris says he is “thrilled that we are linking up with a global organisation like Unicef to mark the start of 2016 by bringing people together for a shared moment of goodwill to raise awareness and benefit children around the world.”

Neither has revealed how coming together will actually raise the money.

•The New Year festivities centre around the annual fireworks and special effects display, which is to be focused around the London Eye. For updates and information about how to book tickets go to:
www.london.gov.uk/nye.

•For more information about other New Year events in London, go to: www.visitlondon.com/newyear.

•For more information about Unicef, go to:
www.unicef.org.uk.

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