Four top New Year’s Eve parties in London

If you’re planning on being in the capital for New Year’s Eve, don’t settle for any old pub. Instead, check out these fun festive celebrations to enjoy with friends and family.

Feast on a retro extravaganza

A Vintage New Year’s Eve Party
Southbank Centre

Seeing in the New Year at the spectacular Royal Festival Hall sounds like a good start. In addition, organisers have given the event a cool retro spin. Enjoy your favourite vintage tunes from the 1920 to the 1990s in five pop-up retro nightclubs. Do the twist, the jive, the Macarena and the mash potato until you can take no more. After which you can enjoy the hair and beauty salon, the photo studios, the private terrace and even grab a bite to eat.
southbankcentre.co.uk

Dance under a blue whale

New Year’s Eve: Under the Sea
Natural History Museum

Get a load of this: the Natural History Museum – you know, the place where they have all the dinosaur bones and whatnot – are hosting a New Year’s Eve Party. That means you get to dance under some of the city’s most famous exhibits, including the titanic blue whale skeleton fondly known as Hope. Start by picking up your complimentary drink before heading off to enjoy the unique surrounds, stopping to make your very own underwater-themed headwear. You’ll have a whale of a time!
nhm.ac.uk

Feel the New York disco fever

The Get Down / Studio 54 Special
Pop Brixton

It’s 1970s in New York. Disco music is at its height and hip hop is the new kid on the block. Clubbing is a massive deal, and at the centre of the party scene is the discreet-sounding Studio 54, where stars, such as Debbie Harry, Grace Jones and Andy Warhol hang out. It’s this golden-age of US culture that community project and venue Pop Brixton are set evoke in their New Year’s Eve party. Dance yourself into the future with music by Donna Summers, Diana Ross, Chic, Grand Master Flash and much, much more.
popbrixton.org

Enjoy New Year’s Eve fireworks from a boat

If you don’t have tickets for London’s sold-out official New Year’s Eve fireworks, do not fret. There is still time to get some of the best seats in the town. Every year, the city’s spectacular display is enjoyed by thousands of visitors bracing the cold. But if you were too late to bag a ticket, you can instead watch the impressive bursts of colour over London’s iconic skyline from a boat on the Thames. Several companies offer New Year’s Eve boat trips, including Westminster Party Boats and City Cruises, so shop around, but it could be the solution to your months of indecision.