BBC London New Year's Fireworks 2026 Real Audio Soundtrack & Music

Music Direction & Live Soundtrack Delivery
Each year, London’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks bring millions of people together in a shared moment, broadcast live across the UK and around the world.

For the 2025/26 celebrations, ON THE SLY once again worked alongside lead creative agency Identity, as music directors and soundtrack producers to deliver the live music soundtrack for Europe’s largest annual firework display.

A shared moment at global scale
New Year’s Eve in London is a rare cultural moment. Over twelve minutes, the city’s skyline becomes a stage for storytelling, symbolism and emotion, experienced simultaneously by a live audience along the Thames and millions watching at home.

Music plays a central role in that experience. It sets the pace, supports the narrative, and helps turn a vast live broadcast into something that still feels connected and human.

The role of music
ON THE SLY was responsible for the music soundtrack across the entire show, combining carefully curated commercial music with bespoke elements to support key moments in the narrative, including the live countdown to midnight.

Working closely with the creative, lighting, pyro and broadcast teams, the soundtrack was structured to align precisely with visual storytelling, lighting cues and pyrotechnic sequences, all delivered live and in real time.

Live delivery, no second takes
Broadcast live on BBC One and streamed globally, the show required absolute precision across music playback, lighting, fireworks and broadcast output. From the lighting booth to the music session, all elements ran in sync under live broadcast conditions, with no second takes. Every cue, transition and moment had to land exactly as intended.

Collaboration
London’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks is delivered through close collaboration between creative, technical and operational partners.

ON THE SLY worked with Kojo Samuel alongside Identity, Pixel Artworks, Tim Routledge Lighting Design, Titanium Fireworks and broadcast production partners to ensure the music soundtrack supported the wider creative vision and connected audiences to the story unfolding across London’s skyline.