[3] In 1952, the BBC broadcast a special presented by Richard Dimbleby from St Thomas's Hospital, with appearances by Donald Peers and Janet Brown.

The duo quickly became synonymous with New Year's Eve programmes on the BBC, with Andy Stewart and Moira Anderson also becoming noted fixtures.

[4][3] Comedy historian Graham McCann noted that most of these Hogmanay-centric specials were likely intended to help the BBC meet quotas for networked programming produced outside of London.

[4][3] The Hogmanay format was retooled for the 1985 special—the Tom O'Connor-presented Live into 85—which was broadcast from the Gleneagles Hotel, and attempted to feature guests and performers with a broader appeal to English viewers.

[4][3] However, the special was met with multiple setbacks; budgetary issues only allowed them to book two English performers—pop band Bucks Fizz and Name That Tune singer Maggie Moone—with the remainder of the lineup largely consisting of Scottish talent.

The telecast was produced as part of a global consortium led by the BBC and WGBH,[11] and was designated as one of five projects undertaken by the broadcaster to mark the arrival of the 21st century.

[12] The special would feature coverage of the opening of the Millennium Dome,[12] and London's New Year's fireworks show on the South Bank.

[13][14] The special was slated to feature guest appearances by Kofi Annan, Stephen Hawking, Barry Humphries (who reported from the ball drop at Times Square in New York City as Dame Edna), Kiri Te Kanawa, Sophia Loren, Nelson Mandela, Cliff Richard, and Tina Turner among others.

[15] Alongside the television broadcast, BBC Radio 1 aired One World, an international electronic music event featuring DJ sets by Carl Cox (who would open the event from Australia during a special Radio 1 Breakfast, and then be the final performer in Honolulu, Hawaii), Dance Anthems host Dave Pearce (who would host a show from Glasgow for the countdown to midnight in the UK), Pete Tong, Paul Oakenfold, and Fatboy Slim among others.

Emma B and Scott Mills hosted the main block of the event, Millennium Dance Party, which ran through the evening of 31 December to the following morning.

[citation needed] From 2009 until 2013, the programme returned to its original format of one presenter interviewing the general public on the streets of London, leading into the New Year Fireworks.

[citation needed] Beginning in 2013, BBC One began to air concert specials from Central Hall Westminster on New Year's Eve; the specials are divided into two parts, with a segment featuring live coverage of midnight celebrations from London (billed in programme guides as New Year's Eve Fireworks) airing in between.

It included a titular special hosted by Paddy McGuinness and Maya Jama live from Dock10 studios in Salford, Greater Manchester, a New Year's Eve edition of The Graham Norton Show, the concert special Alicia Keys Rocks New Year's Eve (which was filmed in Los Angeles), and the live fireworks presentation from London.

[25][26] London's New Year's Eve fireworks were once again conducted as a "live broadcast spectacular"[27] for BBC One (similar to the previous year, which included an appearance by Giles Terera, and a performance by the West End Musical Choir at Shakespeare's Globe), with the city having cancelled a planned in-person celebration at Trafalgar Square due to Omicron variant concerns.