London Mayor Sadiq Khan has cancelled the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations again, citing fears regarding the Omicron variant to justify this year’s cancellation.
Sadiq Khan, the left-wing Labour Party mayor of London, has once again cancelled New Year’s Eve celebrations within the British capital, this time citing fears regarding the omicron variant of the Chinese Coronavirus as the reason for the decision.
“Due to the surge in Omicron cases, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel our New Year’s Eve event in Trafalgar Square,” read a post by the mayor. “The safety of Londoners must always come first.”
Khan had already announced back in October that the fireworks display for this year’s celebrations would not go ahead.
The mayor’s decision to cancel all festivities mirrors one made last year by the mayor, who previously stated that “we” couldn’t afford ” to have the numbers of people who congregate on New Year’s Eve congregating”.
The move comes after the British government refused to rule out implementing a full-on lockdown for England before Christmas.
“I’m determined to work closely with partners in our city to do everything we possibly can to slow the spread of the new variant and ensure our NHS services are not overwhelmed this winter,” Khan’s online post continued. “This means that we will no longer be hosting a celebration event for 6,500 people on Trafalgar Square this New Year’s Eve.”
While Khan admitted that many Londoners would be disappointed at the news, he added that there would still be “an incredible broadcast spectacular to watch on our screens” courtesy of the state-owned BBC.
The mayor had previously declared a “major incident” within the city over rising omicron case numbers on Saturday, the announcement coinciding with violent clashes on London streets between Police and anti-lockdown protesters.
Thousands of people took part in demonstrations on Saturday, which were held in response to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s tightening of restrictions in England.
While Khan now has a habit of cancelling New Year’s celebrations, this has not stopped him from inserting his progressive politics into the events when they do occasionally go ahead.
For example, Khan stirred significant controversy last January, celebrating London kicking off the New Year by lighting up the skyline with a BLM fist symbol.
The mayor shared a video of the fist on his social media, commenting that the display sent a “loud, proud message to the world” that the city stood against racism, finishing off the post with BlackLivesMatter hashtag.
The display was accompanied by music made by British rapper Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr — aka “Stormzy” — who had previously called Britain “definitely, 100 per cent” racist in 2019.