Well, the excitement is certainly building with less than an hour to go. Here’s what the city’s mayor said on preparations:“I’ve got to say to my friends in New Zealand and Australia, well done for what you did in Auckland and Sydney, but that’s nothing compared to what we’re going to do in London just after midnight.

“The teams have been working really hard. We started planning this in July. Over the last four or five days, 75 men and women have been getting both sides of the River Thames ready.

“We have got 12 to 13 minutes of amazing fireworks, amazing music and amazing light display and one or two surprises as well.”

Those watching London’s famous New Year fireworks display have shared incredible videos of the spectacle

Enjoy them below:

And what a display it was!

Aside from the incredible firework display still going on we’ve heard a short review of the year with the coronation of King Charles III and the anniversary of the NHS read out.

Then there was a light display of a child blowing dandelions seeds across the sky.

Oh, and we’ve also had the Spice Girls

Big Ben is now sounding.... and the countdown....5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy New Year

The sound of Eurythmics’ hit Sweet Dreams fills the night sky in London as we approach countdown..... a minute away now

More than 800,00 people were on the Champs Elysees boulevard to celebrate the start of 2024, and they got a sight of this..

It’s not long to go until the countdown at Big Ben and the huge firework display around the London Eye.

Whether you are one of the lucky ones to get a ticket to see it live, or you are watching it from home, we at The Independent wish you an early Happy New Year

Security has been heightened across European cities for the celebratrions.

German authorities said they had detained three more people in connection with a reported threat of a New Year‘s Eve attack by Islamic extremists on the world-famous Cologne Cathedral.

In Berlin, some 4,500 police officers are in place to keep order and avoid riots like a year ago. Police in the German capital issued a ban on the traditional use of fire crackers for several streets across the city. They also banned a pro-Palestinian protest in the Neukoelln neighbourhood of the city, which has seen several pro-Palestinian riots.

In France, 90,000 law enforcement officers have been deployed. Of those, 6,000 are n Paris, where French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said more than 1.5 million people would attend celebrations on the Champs-Elysees.