From the Electronic Telegraph: ISSUE 1577 Sunday 19 September 1999

Thames bridges to bar Millennium revellers By David Bamber, Home Affairs Correspondent

Where and how to celebrate the Millennium New Year's Eve means more business than usual And if you want to go to the party . . .

LONDON'S main bridges will be closed on New Year's Eve to try to prevent exuberant Millennium revellers from leaping into the Thames and drowning.

Tower Bridge, Westminster Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and other cross-Thames links in central London will be closed for up to six hours either side of midnight. Public safety is to be given top priority, says Nick Raynsford, a minister at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. He has been overseeing arrangements in the capital which are being co-ordinated by the Pan-London Steering Committee.

Up to six million extra people are expected to pour into the city on Millennium Eve, and the Thames will be the main focus of activity, with a huge "River of Fire" spectacular planned from Greenwich to Battersea. The Army is being placed on an emergency footing to tackle problems, and leave for all hospital and ambulance workers, police and fire services has been cancelled.

One main fear identified by the police and Port of London Authority is that drunken revellers will jump into the icy Thames at around midnight. It used to be a tradition for people to jump into the fountains in Trafalgar Square at New Year until the practice was ruled too dangerous in the Eighties following deaths and injuries in crowd trouble.

Bridges have been identified as the points which are likely to become most congested. The emergency services want to avoid a huge crush of people converging on one spot. By closing the bridges to the public, the routes will be clear for use by emergency vehicles. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions confirmed that some bridges would be closed completely or open only to emergency services.

A spokesman said: "Our main concern is safety, and possible overcrowding on the bridges is an issue to be addressed. We have to take account of all different sorts of scenarios and the status of the bridges is a subject that is being discussed right now. The Pan-London Steering Committee has the responsibility for making the final decision when it meets next month."

An official at the Port of London Authority said many people underestimated the dangers of the Thames. He said: "Three lads jumped into the river a few months ago and the third one died. The currents are strong and it will be freezing cold on December 31. People talk about swimming the Thames in pubs, but it cannot be done and to try is dangerous."

Another spokesman for the authority said: "People don't realise that the Thames can be a killer. The river rises and falls seven metres a day and if the 6 mph current doesn't get you, the mud at the bottom of the river and the cold will. The maximum time possible to survive is 20 minutes."

The Port of London Authority and the police intend to have rescue boats stationed every few hundred yards on the Thames on New Year's Eve. Millennium celebrations will take place along the river in central London as the Year 2000 begins.

On the first chime of midnight, fireworks will burst high over the Meridian Line at Greenwich, where the Queen will be attending the opening night of the Millennium Dome. Fireworks will be launched from barges moored along the Thames and flares will set the river aglow.

Eighteen seconds later, at Tower Bridge, the first of 2,000 pyrotechnic candles will flare into the night sky. A few seconds later, a "River of Fire" effect will begin. It will create the illusion of a single and continuous 60-metre-high flame speeding along the Thames at 300 mph.

All this will take place while Big Ben is still chiming the strokes of midnight. A firework spectacular will follow - so bright that officials say it will be visible from space.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), September 18, 1999

Answers

LONDON'S main bridges will be closed on New Year's Eve to try to prevent exuberant Millennium revellers from leaping into the Thames and drowning.

That's the dumbest excuse for a roadblock I've ever heard.

-- Gordon (g_gecko_69@hotmail.com), September 19, 1999.

London's Bridges are closing down, closing down, closing down ...

Excuse us, the Bridge To The 21st Century may be bottlenecked ...

Actually, it's nice to see *some* thought going into New Year's Evil planning. Bet the restrictions sorta creep up & up & up as TPTB may, or may not, realize the implications.

New Year's Eve parties by 4-block parcels, with promises to hold a truly festive bash come May should things "turn out OK," would be the wise approach.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), September 19, 1999.