From steam-powered spectacles to midnight cannon fire, discover the top places in Guardian City to ring in the New Year like never before!
As the new year approaches, excitement fills the air.
Guardian City is the capital of time – and, at the beginning of a new year – the capital of party time.
Little wonder, also, that people come from far and wide to see in the New Year in the City, the population doubling and trebling in size.
Here are five places that have become gathering points for the residents of Guardian City as the clock reaches midnight and the Commonwealth says goodbye to 1874 OT and says hello to 1875 OT. But, beware, everywhere is crazily busy.
1. New Year on Time Plaza
On New Year’s Eve, Time Plaza is the natural place to be. It becomes the beating heart of Guardian City, a kaleidoscope of lights and sounds. Surrounded by walls of clocks, street performers dazzle the crowd with feats of fire and acrobatics, while food stalls serve steaming delicacies.
The air buzzes with laughter, music, and the rhythmic chime of dozens of timepieces counting down the final moments. At midnight, as the clockwork hands align, a cascade of golden sparks showers the plaza, illuminating the faces of thousands. It’s a night of unity and revelry, where even the city’s quirks – steam vents hissing and shadowy figures darting in alleyways – seem to pulse with hope.
2. The Shimmerings Parliament
Just a stone’s throw from the bustling energy of Time Plaza, Parliament Square offers a more stately setting for welcoming the new year. This is a more refined affair – tickets only for the VIP enclosures – and you might catch a celebrity doing the rounds.
Towering above the square is The Grand Regulator, the Commonwealth’s largest and most venerable clock, its ornate brass work glinting in the moonlight. The crowd here gathers in hushed anticipation, their faces upturned to the mighty clock – better known as Reg – waiting for the moment its sonorous chimes will ring out across Guardian City.
Around them, street vendors sell mulled cider and roasted chestnuts, and impromptu choruses break into festive songs. As the final seconds approach, a reverent hush descends, followed by Reg’s deep, resonant tones. Cheers erupt and fireworks fill the sky.
3. The Obscurity greets the New Year
Down in the Obscurity, Guardian City’s most infamous warren of dim alleys and crooked buildings, New Year’s Eve is celebrated with a wild, unruly fervour unmatched anywhere else.
The flicker of lanterns casts long, twisting shadows over cobblestone streets, where low taverns overflow with revellers singing raucous songs and clinking tankards of questionable ale. Skullduggery takes a backseat to the evening’s revelry as pickpockets and smugglers toast alongside gamblers and schemers for one night of unity.
The Obscurity’s celebrations may be rough around the edges – fights breaking out as often as toasts – but there’s an undeniable charm to the way its denizens embrace the new year. For those willing to brave its shadows, the Obscurity offers a New Year like no other: loud, lawless, and utterly unforgettable.
4. Twilight Circus and Fair
The Twilight Circus on New Year’s Eve is more than just a show – it’s an entire fairground of wonder that sprawls across the fields of the Cut. Outside the massive striped marquee, the fair hums with life as steam-powered rides whirl and clatter, their brass mechanisms glowing red hot.
Children gasp at the sight of lumbering elephants adorned with glittering harnesses, while adults browse booths brimming with curiosities: clockwork trinkets, bottled oddities, and maps to nowhere. Street performers juggle flames and play haunting melodies on mechanical instruments, adding to the carnival’s magic.
Inside the tent,if you’re lucky to have a ticket (it’s booked out a decade in advance) the circus itself is a symphony of marvels – fire dancers, contortionists, and daring aerialists command the ring.
As midnight approaches, the crowd gathers for the main event: a once-a-year trapeze act performed high above the fair. Suspended in the glow of flickering gas lamps, the trapeze artists defy gravity with a breathtaking display of skill and grace, their final midair catch perfectly timed with the chime of midnight.
5. Royal Naval Dockyards fire up the cannon
In the Southern Cuff’s naval dockyards, New Year’s Eve is celebrated with a deafening display of maritime might and tradition. As midnight approaches, the ships moored along the docks, from ironclad warships to nimble patrol boats, come alive.
Sailors and civilians alike crowd the decks, sharing flasks of spiced rum while steam engines hiss and gears clank in the background.
At the stroke of midnight, the navy marks the occasion with a thunderous volley of cannon fire, rockets, and signal flares, lighting up the Thames in a spectacular blaze of colour and sound.
For the truly adventurous, riverboats offer midnight excursions – outside the reach of the cannon of course. It’s said to be lucky to be afloat on the Thames when the new year strikes – so close to the source of mudge. The boatmen toast the occasion with hearty cheers as the echoes of the dockyards’ celebration roll over the waves.