London's New Year's Eve fireworks display has been described as an “ego trip” for Sadiq Khan after a message referring to the capital's mayor kicked off the fireworks display.
The Sunday evening exhibition organized by Mr Khan, whose theme was to celebrate the capital's diversity, began with a 20-second message that read: “The Mayor of London presents.”
The message was beamed into the night sky using colorful drones, and political rivals accused Mr Khan of making the 13-minute broadcast, funded by the British taxpayer, about himself.
Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for the London mayoral election, told The Telegraph: “The New Year fireworks belong to the people, not Sadiq Khan.”
“The only thing he has presented in his eight years as mayor is rising crime and an unfair Ulez expansion tax that targets the poorest. We cannot tolerate another four years of this man and his ego making life worse for Londoners. In May, I will ensure a better and brighter future for our city.”
Matthew Goodwin-Freeman, a Conservative councilor for Hatch End, northwest London, said: “They are OUR fireworks, Mr Mayor, not yours. Talk about an ego trip.”
Howard Cox, Reform UK's mayoral candidate, said the New Year's Eve spectacle “should not be a platform for the political agenda of such a despised mayor”.