this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. police say a major fire in the multi—storey car park of the liverpool echo arena has destroyed 2,000 vehicles. "1400 cars. and they are guarding against the risk of collapse. six people have died after a seaplane crashed into a river in australia. it's thought four of the victims may be british. the plane has hit the water and it has subsequently sunk. it is sitting in approximately 13 metres of water. the iranian president says people have the right to peacefully protest, but imposes restrictions on social media and uses watercannon to disperse protesters as demonstrations against the ruling clerics continue. and despite the concerns over security, the uk is getting ready to usherin security, the uk is getting ready to usher in the new year. just under one hour to go until celebrations begin. here in london, security is tight as

100,000 people feel the viewing areas, ready to watch the fireworks which kick off as ben chimes at midnight. this is the scene right 110w midnight. this is the scene right now in paris where the celebrations arejust now in paris where the celebrations are just starting to take place to celebrate the new year. and this is the scene in berlin. the same celebrations are taking place at the brandenburg gate in the capital. good evening and welcome to bbc news. firefighters and liverpool at

tackling what they describe as the biggest fire they have ever dealt with. at the liverpool echo arena. the blaze broke out on the third floor of the multi—storey car park earlier this evening. merseyside police say they believe all 1,400 vehicles have been destroyed. steve saul is at the arena for us. the destruction here has been considerably greater than people thought earlier in the evening. that is correct. initially we thought around 150 cars were involved in the fire that started at around 545 this evening. you can see the firefighters at work with an aerial platform. there are 12 engines here and two aerial platform ladders. initially we were told that the fire began in one of the vehicles within the car park and that quickly spread to other vehicles within the structure itself. crews were called

in at about 545 this evening. a major operation under way here in liverpool, on the waterfront close to albert dock. the liverpool international horse show was taking place at the echo arena. the horses we re place at the echo arena. the horses were led to safety and taken inside the arena while the owners of the horses ran to the car park to move the horse boxes that were parked on ground floor. merseyside fire the ground floor. merseyside fire and rescue have said that this is one of the worst fires that merseyside has ever had to deal with. this operation will continue for some time. it began at quarter to six and several hours later it shows no sign of coming to an end. you can hear car tyres exploding mixed in with the sounds of new year celebrations. a number of neighbouring apartments have been evacuated as a safety precaution.

the mayor of liverpool has appealed for help tonight. they are looking for help tonight. they are looking for people to come forward who may be able to offer transport or accommodation for up to 4000 people who have been left stranded here in the city centre. new year's eve is not the best time to try and get public transport, that ended at 11 p.m.. they are appealing for minibuses and coach drivers to step forward and attempt to help people get to the north—west at least and then they can try and help other people go home tomorrow. all 1400 ca i’s people go home tomorrow. all 1400 cars parked within this multistorey cars parked within this multistorey car park have been destroyed. we can tell just by looking at car park have been destroyed. we can telljust by looking at you that there is a lot of grime and sought in the airthat there is a lot of grime and sought in the air that is settling on your face. weekly, although mercifully, there has been no loss of life, this has been a big incident for the city to handle and for all those people

to handle and for all those people to be inconvenienced... they do not have their cars on new year's eve. it isa have their cars on new year's eve. it is a real problem. absolutely. be sought on my face is an indication of how far the smoke is travelling from this major incidents. you can hear another bang bearer of more exploding car tyres. you can only imagine what it would be like for firefighters who need to enter the car park to try and save what they can. structural test will be carried out tomorrow morning to see if the structure can be saved. we were told earlier that they are hoping to make temporary arrangements for parking nearby so that the echo arena can operate as normal in the weeks and months to come. besought and the smell is sick in the air tonight. many thanks. we can talk now to lee clark who had to be evacuated from a

nearby hotel. forjoining this evening. can you tell us what happened? we had to be evacuated. at the time when was happening were walking past and we were told it was just a small fire that would be sorted. and then we walked past and it was a bit like the fireworks had been set off. it was quite harrowing. you and surreal. —— and surreal. the smoke is all over the city now. it is a little strange. we are stranded now. we have no bed for the evening because we have been evacuated. you were staying at a hotel near the arena and you have been moved out? when we came down to go out this evening, everybody from

the hotel had been evacuated as well. ed took an hour and now eve ryo ne well. ed took an hour and now everyone is in the hilton across the road not knowing where they will sleep this evening. do you know where you will sleep this evening? i do not have any idea. the harsh reality is when our drinks are finished we don't know where we sleep at this stage. and the hotel staff? sleep at this stage. and the hotel staff ? ca n sleep at this stage. and the hotel staff? can they help you? they have been helpful. they have been taking room numbers and names and phone numbers. they are doing a grand job. there is not a lot else they can do. i think they said the fire chief was speaking with the hotel manager and we will know in the next few hours whether or not we can sleep in the beds that we pay for this evening. quite difficult for you. as you have

been hearing, nearly 1500 cars have been hearing, nearly 1500 cars have been destroyed in the car park. did you have a vehicle in that? it was my in—laws' car. we came here from nottingham for new years. we got wind that was on fire early. 0riginally wejust wind that was on fire early. 0riginally we just thought it would be small and would be dealt with. now we hear that all the cars have been destroyed. we now need to think about a 125 mile trip tomorrow and we have no clue how to do it. dme. we wish you all the best and hope things get sorted out. —— dear me. thank you very much for talking to us. preparations are under way for the new year celebrations across the uk. hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend events in london and edinburgh this year.

joining us now from victoria embankment in central london is our correspondent jonathan blake — and andrew black is in on princes street in edinburgh. jonathan, what is the atmosphere like? it is a good atmosphere. in the last hour or so the crowds have started to build here on the victoria embankment opposite the london eye which will be the centrepiece for the fireworks display. 100,000 people have tickets to watch the display tonight up close and they are now packing out the embankment. they are expecting a fantastic view for the fireworks display tonight. security is tight, of cause and the metropolitan police say they have evolved and developed their policing plans in the light of tragic events this year in london, the city has seen a number of terrorist attacks. they say there is

no specific threat tonight that they ask people to stay vigilant. routes have been closed since early this afternoon and people ‘s bags have been checked. people are also encouraged to report anything suspicious that they see. everyone is enjoying themselves and waiting for the fireworks to start in less than‘s time. the display will be 11 minutes and 15 seconds line and the theme is gender equality. the mayor of london says he wants to send a message to the world that london is open. the hash tag is behind every great city. and that suggest is that london has benefited from the work of many great women. 2018 as the centenary of many great women. 2018 as the ce nte nary of of many great women. 2018 as the centenary of women being given the vote. we will be hearing from women artists in the second half is celebrating that theme and there will be 50,000 individual pollution is lighting up the night sky. three

barges on the river behind me holding 30 tons of equipment which will help make this a spectacular show. it all kicks off as big ben, which has been silent recently for renovations, it will chime tonight to ring in 2018 and kick off celebrations in style. london is not the only uk city celebrating tonight. we have andrew in edinburgh. thank you very much. i have to say it is freezing here. if you look behind me there has been absolutely no letup from the crowd tonight. everyone is in a fantastic party at is the as we count down the la st party at is the as we count down the last hour until the new year. princes street is behind me, the main street through the city centre which has been transformed into a massive street party. 60,000 people down the street here and 150,000 people overall have come to attenborough to see the new year. there will be a lot of famous act such as rag and bone man. it is the

party and the people down here who have been the real stars of the show. security has been a big issue here in edinburgh. police scotland say they have laid an extra resource thing to make sure everything goes smoothly with the deployment of armed police officers. there have been no major incidents tonight, that we have heard of. police say there is no specific threat to the events tonight and it seems like everything is going well. everything is building up to the big crescendo dig a huge fireworks display. launched as it is every year from the rampart of edinburgh castle. the best news i think so far is that the weather has stayed dry. the area is cold but as you can see behind me everyone is having a fantastic time, ready for the final countdown. that is andrew black in the pure baltic

cold of edinburgh. thank you both very much. new year celebrations have begun around the world as we welcome in 2018. new zealand was the first to see fireworks, before sydney harbour was transformed into a blaze of colour. richard lister‘s report contains flashing images. once again, sydney set the standard for new year's fireworks. 1.5 million people lined the harbour front for a dazzling, deafening celebration. the rainbow theme was a tribute to australia's legalisation of same—sex marriage. two hours earlier, auckland, new zealand, was the first major city to celebrate 2018. its sky tower lit up like a giant roman candle.

that's the unmistakable sound of north korea joining the celebrations with, what else, but a display of rocket power. perhaps the most unusual display, though, didn't involve fireworks at all. in dubai they lit up the world's tallest building with lasers. the burj khalifa became a shimmering canvas, visible up to 60 miles away. while midnight swept around the world, new york was gearing up for its celebrations, one of several cities with unprecedented security this year. parts of china have had a day of festivities, even though they will mark the new year in february. but hong kong may have out—dazzled sydney. fireworks exploded across victoria harbour to a tune most of us will be singing later. the iranian president,

hassan rouhani, has declared that people have the right to protest and criticise his government, but not resort to violence and vandalism. his comments are the first by a seniorfigure in iran since widespread protests against the government began on thursday. today, police in tehran used water cannon on the crowds. kasra naji, from the bbc‘s persian service, reports. the centre of tehran during the fourth day of anti—government protests. these protesters are shouting death to the dictator, a reference to iran's supreme leader. the protests are the most serious challenge to the iranian clerical regime for many years. as the night fell, there were reports of demonstrations from at least a dozen or so cities up and down the country. president rouhani has finally made

a comment on the unrest, days after they started, the first iranian leader to do so. he said iranians had a right to protest but not to violence and destruction. he said iran had many problems that dated back to previous years, a reference to years of international sanctions because of its nuclear programme. the wave of demonstrations throughout the country started on thursday here in mashhad in the north—east with what was supposed to be a small protest by the hardliners to criticise the economic policies of the government of president rouhani, something that quickly got out of control. earlier in the day, the government moved to limit access in iran to the internet and to uphiller social media apps like telegram. but in spite of these efforts, more and more videos

are being posted on social media, and there has been more violence. here in this western city, for example, where a number of people are reported to have been injured. president rouhani's latest words are unlikely to calm these demonstrators, who are calling for the overthrow of the government. at least 36 people have been killed in a head—on collision between a bus and a lorry on a notoriously dangerous road in kenya. the bus was carrying people to the capital, nairobi, when the accident happened on the nakuru—eldoret highway. more than 100 people have died in the last few weeks on that stretch of road. a seaplane has crashed into a river near sydney, killing all six people on board. reports suggest four of the victims are british, although this has not been confirmed by police. the foreign office here

is in contact with officials in australia. the aircraft — on a sightseeing trip in the run—up to the new year celebrations — came down in a river close to the suburb of cowan. phil mercer reports from sydney. the seaplane crashed into jerusalem bay near the town of cowan. on board were five passengers and the pilot. the single—engine aircraft is thought to have sunk rapidly. a witness said it had made a tight right—hand turn and then nosedived into the hawkesbury river. a full—scale search was $0011 under way. there were no survivors. police divers have found six bodies. the wreckage of the plane remains in more than 40ft of water. the authorities say a full investigation will take place. i cannot confirm the identity or ages of the people who were on the plane. we are... it is early in the investigation, and we are working with the plane company, getting investigators

here to confirm the identities and investigate why the plane crashed into the water. the seaplane was returning from a waterfront restaurant to rose bay on sydney harbour. it's a journey that would normally take around 20 minutes. the aircraft is owned by sydney seaplanes. it provides flights around some of the city's most popular tourist attractions, including the opera house, the harbour bridge, and to the north, the hawkesbury river. the company said in a statement that its pilots are some of the most experienced in the world and that all its flights had been suspended until further notice. air—crash investigators will arrive at the site of the accident early on new year's day to try to establish how and why a routine sightseeing flight could end in catastrophe. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. more news to ring you about another

air plane crash in costa rica. the government is now confirmed there we re government is now confirmed there were ten us citizens among the people killed on that plane. ten on the 12 who died were us citizens. the headlines on bbc news: a majorfire in the liverpool arena has destroyed 1400 vehicles. emergency services are guarding against the risk of collapse. six people have died after a seaplane crashed in sydney, australia. it is thought for maybe from the uk. 40

minutes left before uk new year ‘s celebrations begin. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre with 0lly foster after 18 league victories in a row, manchester city's winning streak has come to an end. they were held to a goalless draw at crystal palace but might have lost, had it not been for a late penalty save, ederson keeping out luka milivojevic in injury time. ederson keeping out luka milivojevic in injury time. city were also hit by injuries to gabrieljesus, who is out for at least a month with a knee problem, and kevin de bruyne, but they head into the new year 14 points clear at the top of the premier league. at the end, they had a big chance to win the game. we did not control. we conceded a lot of free kicks and corners. in the second half we were much, much better. we created a lot

of chances and had won in the penalty. and now which is focus on the next one. no one would have expected to even get a point from the game so one should not start being too critical because a point against a team of this quality is always good. 0n because a point against a team of this quality is always good. on a couple of occasions, late penalties awarded and we have failed to capitalise. but the lads are doing a wonderfuljob. arsen wenger took charge of a record 811th premier league match today. it was a 1—1 draw at west bromwich albion. alexis sanchez looked to have give the gunners the win with a deflected free—kick in the last 10 minutes, but callum chambers gave free—kick in the last 10 minutes, but callum chambers gave away a penalty with a debatable hand ball and jay rodriguez equalized in the last minute

i think many, many years ago we fought hard to become professional and think we did a good job but i question now, on top of that, we have a very difficult schedule and i believe that we did try very hard to win the game and in the end we couldn't because of a bad decision. in the end it was a fortunate decision. you might look at that and say it is a penalty. arsene wenger looks at that and thinks it was not a penalty but sometimes, what do they say about football? it comes back and treats you at times. ashley young will miss the next three manchester united matches after accepting a charge of violent conduct

from the football association. he was caught on camera elbowing southampton‘s dusan tadic in yesterday's goalless draw at old trafford. the incident wasn't spotted by referee craig pawson. swansea's kyle naughton is also banned for 3 matches after accepting a similar charge for stamping on a watford player. exeter chiefs are 10 points clear in the rugby union prmiership after beating leicester 30—6. they ran in 4 second half tries. leicester's sixth league defeat in a row is their worst run in over 50 years. there were two matches in wales in the pro—14, scarlets won away at cardiff blues 14—11. cardiff led at half time but scarlets fought back soon after the break. rhys patchell‘s try, their second of the match, sealed the win. they are top of conference b in the pro—14. 0spreys also beat dragons 22—9. england's cricketers have been enjpoying new year in sydney, ahead of the final ashes test which begins in four days' time. england wicketkeeper jonny bairstow has given his backing to all—rounder, moeen ali, he has only taken three wickets and averaged 19 runs with the bat.

i think that it is not questionable to think he is not in the 11th. i think fall... there are not many finger spinners come to australia and bowl teams out so it is important we get behind him. ben stokes won'tjoin up with the england one day squad in australia — he's still waiting to hear if he'll be charged following a fight outside a bristol nightclub in september. the five match series starts on januray 14th but it's very unlikely that stokes will play a part. dawid malan will replace him in the squad. that's all the sport for now. political leaders have been reflecting on the past 12 months in their new year's messages, with theresa may calling 2017 a year of progress for the uk. the labour leaderjeremy corbyn said the hope of a new britain is closer than ever.

with more here's our political correspondent, emma vardy. after a political year dominated by brexit, it's no surprise the subject played a key part in theresa may's new year's message. she said the government has pursued our brexit objectives with steady purpose and progress will continue in 2018 as the talks move on to trade. but not for the first time, theresa may made clear she wants to be more than madame brexit. making success of brexit is crucial but it will not be the limit of our ambitions. we also have to carry on making a difference here and now on the issues that matter to people's daily lives. that means building an economy fit for the future and taking a balanced approach to government spending. so we get our debt falling but can also invest in the things that matter — our schools, our police and our precious nhs. theresa may says next year will continue the fight

against all forms of extremism and she believes 2018 can be a year of renewed pride in our country. meanwhile, the tone ofjeremy corbyn‘s address was rather different. he said we are being held back by a self—serving elite and pointed to the gains labour made at the general election, saying this was a year when people said, "no more." the old political consensus is finished. we are staking out the new centre ground in british politics, backing the things that most people want but are blocked by vested interests. we are a government in waiting while the conservatives are weak, divided and stuck in an outdated rut with no new ideas. the hope of a new britain, which runs in the interests of the many, not the few, seems closer than ever before. the new year messages brought to a close what has been politically dramatic 12 months. emma vardy, bbc news. let's get a weather update now.

new year's eve has been quite a lovely affair thanks to this cloud wrapped in the north of the uk. storm dylan bringing winds to scotla nd storm dylan bringing winds to scotland and northern ireland. you can see some showers. scotland and northern ireland. you can see some showers. more out of those in the next hour. if you're planning to see some fireworks it should be clear but with more showers following. into new year's eve morning proper, we will see some quite heavy rain but more importantly some strong winds, even severe gale force along the coast and area of high pressure running up the channel. some sunshine to start

the channel. some sunshine to start the day further north but it will be breezy. showers for northern ireland and scotland. strong winds here as well. a frosty start. showers dipping down to north wales come the afternoon. and the continent getting brighter. northern scotland with some sunshine but a chilly day in and bra. —— edinburgh. clearskies overnight into tuesday. you could see a frost just about anywhere. it could well be a fine but cold start the tuesday before another wet and windy spell of weather. it will be quite mild to the south but chilly enough to the north and could see some snow in the higher ground. we

are then left at the mercy of these areas of pressure. 0ften are then left at the mercy of these areas of pressure. often very windy and wet and perhaps some intense thunderstorms around on wednesday. the winds always a feature. likely to be brief. it looks windy, some quite heavy rain around and maybe some localised flooding and then starting to feel rather chilly come friday. it leads me to wish you a happy new year from everyone here at bbc weather. this is bbc news. our latest headlines. firefighters tackle a huge blaze in a multi—storey car park at liverpool's echo arena. merseyside police says it believes 1,400 vehicles have been destroyed. the iranian president warns that violence and vandalism won't be tolerated — after four days of anti—government protests. divers recover the bodies of six people, four believed to be british,

who died when a sightseeing plane crashed into a river north of sydney. fireworks and festivities usher in the new year across europe — germany welcomed in 2018 with a spectacular display over berlin's brandenberg gate let's get more now on the blaze at the multi—storey carpark of the liverpool echo arena. merseyside police believes all 1,400 vehicles have been destroyed. steve saul has the latest from the arena for us. initially we thought around 150 cars we re initially we thought around 150 cars were involved in the fire that began at around quarter to six this evening. if you look over my shoulder here you can see firefighters at work with an aerial platform. there are 12 engines here from merseyside fire and rest you

with it in an aerial platform rescue ladders that it we were initially told the fire began within one of the vehicles in the car park and that spread to other vehicles within the structure itself. cruiser called at about 545 this evening and a major operation under way here on the waterfront close to the albert dock. the liverpool international horse show was taking place at the echo arena. 0r horse show was taking place at the echo arena. or the horses were led to safety and ta ken echo arena. or the horses were led to safety and taken inside the arena by the owners of the horses ran to the car park to move the horse boxes that were parked on the ground floor of this multi—storey car park. merseyside fire and rescue's chief officer has said this is probably one of the worst fires that merseyside has ever had to deal with. this operation will continue here for some time. it began at quarter to six and several hours later it shows no sign of coming to

an end. you can hear car tyres exploding, mixed in with the sounds of new years celebrations here in liverpool city centre did again number of neighbouring apartments have been evacuated as a safety precaution. the mayor of liverpool has been appealing for help tonight. he looks for people to come forward who may be able to offer transport or accommodation for up to 4000 people who have been left stranded here in the city centre. new year's eve is probably not the best time to try and get public transport here in liverpool, that entered at around 11 o'clock. they are appealing for mini buses and coaches to come forward to try and help people to leave get through parts of the north—west. then they can help you people who have come from further fire to get them home tomorrow. 0r1400 cars parked within this car park have been destroyed. we can telljust by looking at you that there is a lot

of grime and soot in the air. into settling on your face. of grime and soot in the air. into settling on yourface. clearly, although mercifully there has been no loss of life, this has been a big incident for the city to handle and for all of those people to be selling convenience. do not have their cars on new year's eve. —— people to be so inconvenienced. absolutely. the soot on my face shows how far the smoke is travelling from this incident. you can hear another bang bearer of tyres exploding on buildings inside the building. you can only imagine what it would be like for firefighters need to enter the car park to save what they can. structural tests will be carried out tomorrow morning to see of the structure can be saved. we were told earlier that they are hoping to make temporary arrangements for other parking nearby so that the arena can operate as normal in the weeks and months to come. the soot and the smell is thick in the air tonight.

let's go back to victoria embankment in central london and our correspondent jonathan blake. you have been there for several hours now and presumably the atmosphere is heating up?m certainly is. less than 30 minutes to go now until london celebrates the arrival of 2018 in style. there will be a spectacular fireworks display kicking off as big ben chimes at midnight. behind me the london eye will be the centrepiece for that display. 11 minutes and 15 seconds of fireworks lighting up the night sky. there is a huge crowd now gathered here on the embankment ready to see those fireworks in action. they have been waiting patiently for several hours. it has stayed relatively dry and it is mild for this time of year so they are not too called. as you can see, they are ready, waiting and quite enthusiastic for the fireworks display to start. people have come

from all over the world, some on here on holiday, some came especially for fireworks and even two people getting engaged in the crowd. that is one new year's eve cliche we have ticked off here in london tonight. i spoke to the mayor of london earlier who joined this year on the embankment and told me more about what we can expect tonight. 0ver100,000 people will be here tonight. the first half, the first half of the soundtrack will feature mainly london artist. the second half will be great female artist because 2018 if 100 years since women were given the right to vote. we will use it to celebrate women getting the votes and model progress made but also driving forward to end gender equality. what do you have to do in that respect personally? what can you do to help women achieve their potential and true quality? throughout next year we will have the first ever statue of of women in

parliament square. there 11 great loads and there, it is about time we had a great woman there. making sure that employers published gender equality audits and make sure that women get the pay they deserve to be making sure we encourage women to do all sorts of careers they don't think about currently including teaching girls to code. that is quite important. we have a whole year's worth of programming in place and we kick off tonight at midnight with the soundtrack and fireworks and use that as a springboard to go forward. to those celebrations tonight, security will be tight in london. what can you say to reassure people that they will be safe? we have over 100,000 people here on the river enjoying the fireworks. the police work incredibly hard to do what they can to keep us safe. visitors to the river thames will

see a large number of uniformed officer and a larger the number —— usual number of armed officers. they will not see the plainclothes office rs will not see the plainclothes officers in the crowd. there was the delay coming into the secure area because there will be searches taking place. were working closely with the police service and i confident that the fireworks tonight will be as safe as it can be. it has been a difficult year for london with several significant terrorist attacks. is that something that people just need to get used to now? across the world were seen terrorist target —— cities beat london, manchester, paris, berlin, new york. nobody should ever except terrorism as part of their normal life. we do need to make sure we can do what we can to thwart attacks. 0ur police and security services have thwarted and security services have thwarted a numberof and security services have thwarted a number of attacks i ask for londoners and visitors to be the eyes and ears of the police service.

if you see anything suspicious tonight or any other day of the week, ring or 999, rip orderto tonight or any other day of the week, ring or 999, rip order to the police. we also have a special hotline, that you can call. we need to help the police do theirjob of keeping us safe. grenfell tower was, of course, a big event. how confident are you that the big lessons have been learned from that tragedy? we judge a person or a city by how they respond to great challenges. i am by how they respond to great challenges. lam respond —— proud of how we responded to four terrorist attacks and the fires at grant celtic our thoughts and prayers are still with those suffering years fa ct of still with those suffering years fact of the fire and the terror attacks. some have suffered life changing injuries. we need to make certain that the police and the fire service have all the equipment and materials they need. that is why i ensured that the london fire commissioner got the equipment she required and that is why i am asking

the government to do a u—turn on the cards they made to the police service. our offices and our firefighters run towards danger, while encouraging others to run to safety. the least we can do is provide them with the material they needin provide them with the material they need in the correct number of office rs need in the correct number of officers that they need as well. back to the celebrations tonight, it promises to be spectacular. how important is it for london to put on a show? londoners will enjoy the fireworks tonight. people around the country will be watching the fireworks on tv and people around the world. this is a sign of confidence, of who we are. it shows the world that we are london, the greatest city in the world. we are open and we are a beacon. 0ur theme of gender equality. the second half of gender equality. the second half of our soundtrack can i been great female artist shows the world that we are beacon for pluralism and equality. we embrace different and we celebrated. and any new years

resolutions? i will use my new years resolutions? i will use my new years resolution as an used to do more exercise and that will take the form of walking my new puppy. exercise and that will take the form of walking my new puppy~ " exercise and that will take the form of walking my new puppy. —— as an excuse to do more exercise. that was the london mayor speaking to us earlier. 15 minutes left to go and the stage is set here in london for the stage is set here in london for the spectacular fireworks display to start injust a the spectacular fireworks display to start in just a few minutes time. the london eye there on the banks of the river thames is the centrepiece of the display as ever. the crowds, 100,000 people with tickets for tonight's display, packed out along the embankment and the bridges across the river thames. they have been waiting patiently. 30 or 40 deepin been waiting patiently. 30 or 40 deep in places for several hours now. trying to keep warm. it is mild in central london tonight and we had rain earlier on but most were it has been dry and everyone who had dumped from all over the world, many

londoners as well, a standing by to watch the fireworks which will kick off as it then chimes at midnight. it will time. it has been silent for a few months as renovation work ta kes a few months as renovation work takes place. and although the tower is covered in scaffolding, the clock face will be visible and will chime to see in 2018. and so as the crowd awake midnight and the countdown to 2018, everything is in place for what promises to be, once again here in london, a spectacular start to the new year. jonathan, many thanks. we will be back to you just before midnight. we think we can go now to our correspondence in edinburgh. andrew, you have been there for several hours. i can see the crowds have really started to gather now and the atmosphere must be quite something. it is quite something.

the temperature has been dropping a wee bit in the last few hours but not the spirits of the crowd who have been here since six or seven p.m. having a great time. what you can see behind me as princess street in edinburgh, the main thoroughfare through the centre of edinburgh. there are about 60,000 people here waiting for new year to happen patiently. there are around 150,000 people in edinburgh altogetherfor the celebrations tonight. the crowd have been in great spirits all day and they have been watching live bands. rag and bone man is on the stage right now. they have also been watching other bands like human league. the buildup is to be crescendo, a huge fireworks display from edinburgh castle, the

battlements, which will be let off as the bells happen, as midnight happens. a firework display lasting around ten minutes. prior to that we will hear from the low and high part playing a lament from the ramparts of the castle, perhaps a moment for quiet reflection on the year that has passed and maybe look forward to the year ahead. that will probably be the only quiet part of this evening. after the fireworks have spread i think people here will be partying on into the wee small hours as they have been doing since around six or seven o'clock tonight. it has been a great night so far he tonight andi been a great night so far he tonight and i think still much more of a great night to come. as the uk counts down the final

minutes of 2017, countries around the world, it to the east of here, have been celebrating the new year. the fireworks in sydney, australia we re the fireworks in sydney, australia were as impressive as ever. crowd: ten, nine, eight, seven, six,, five, four, three, two, one. well, if that did not impress you, a similar display in hong kong which ran in the new year in its inimitable style. crowd: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, , inimitable style. crowd: ten, nine, eight, seven, six,, five, four, three, two, one. all: happy new year! auld lang syne plays.

all: happy new year! that was quite a version of auld lang syne. and in dubai, fireworks we re lang syne. and in dubai, fireworks were replaced by a laser show. ten minutes displaying the symbol of the nation. —— symbols. i think that is it. revellers have

gathered in cities in europe as well as new year celebrations have reached a climax. keeping with the annual traditions in france, paris lit up as revellers celebrated new year's eve. meanwhile, in the german capital, berlin, the brandenburg gate's fireworks marked the start of 2018. and now, let's take a look at what happened in madrid, in spain. famous for its traditional new year ‘s party. the attendance was reduced to

20,000 for security reasons. well, let's go back to central london. wejust had a well, let's go back to central london. we just had a whiz around the world of extraordinary firework displays but london can proud itself on putting on a very good show. definitely. as far as everyone who is here is concerned that london will be the best there is. the london eye behind me. we are live, beaming pictures of the night's display to you and to those watching from around the world. people have come from all over the world and the uk. we can have a quick chat to some of the people who have been waiting patiently. very excited. what are

you hoping to see? some good fireworks. how many times have you seen the firework display? seven times. do they get better every year must make every year. what are your new yea rs must make every year. what are your new years resolution? happy new year. enjoy the show. not only from around the uk but from around the world. from the philippines. we are in london from the philippines. hgppy in london from the philippines. happy new year from the philippines. they are ready now to see the fireworks. 11 minutes and 15 seconds worth. lighting up the night sky. the