Bangless in Birmingham: New Year’s hoax packs the square

Social media scammers duped thousands of people into flocking to Birmingham City Centre for a New Year’s fireworks display that didn’t exist.

Excited crowds packed Centenary Square last night, hoping to ring in 2025 with a bang. However, they were only to discover that the fireworks were a hoax.

While some parts of the UK celebrated with dazzling displays, stormy weather forced other events to be cancelled. However, at least those cancellations were announced in advance.

Photos show hopeful spectators bundled up against the cold, eagerly waiting for the show to start, only for West Midlands Police to announce there was nothing to see, Mail Online reported.

Officers patrolling the square had to tell those who made their way down that the event was not happening.

Hype explodes, fireworks don’t: Birmingham’s big letdown

According to The Mirror, social media posts gave the impression that a spectacular fireworks display was going ahead.

However, this was false information and fake news. The sea of people vastly outnumbered police and security officers, but fortunately, there were only small pockets of disruption.

When the clock struck midnight, scores of people cheered. One person let a firework off in the crowd while another had a small box, but no organised display happened.

Birmingham has not held an official fireworks display for a decade.

West Midlands Police said in a statement online: “We’re aware of speculation of a New Year’s Eve fireworks display taking place in Birmingham’s Centenary Square tonight. We can confirm this is not the case.

“We don’t want people travelling unnecessarily into the city centre tonight to be disappointed after discovering the event isn’t happening.”

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