It’s usually one of the busiest nights of the year – and which traditionally leaves revellers with very soar heads on Christmas morning.
However, this Christmas Eve saw cities all over the country left virtually deserted by party-goers who stayed home or locked themselves up in isolation amid the Omicron Covid surge.
Although a few children were seen battling the windy and wet conditions Friday night, large parts of Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle were left looking like ghost towns.
Due to decreased demand, many pubs and clubs didn’t open. However, hundreds of empty tables were seen on the terraces of restaurants and bars.
The situation was repeated throughout the country, in what will likely be another big loss for the hotel industry.
The normally packed Bar Fibre was empty in Leeds. However, there were no lines outside the Bar Fibre. In Manchester photos show party hotspots all around Manchester’s Northern Quarter, Printworks and Printworks.
On Christmas Eve, Stevenson Square was empty in Manchester
Manahatta is Leeds’ city centre, and rows upon rows of chairs are empty.
Unfrozen streets of Leeds provide the backdrop for a scene in which a reveller takes a picture with a Santa-inspired Santa-inspired outfit.
Queen’s Court, Bar Fibre and Bar Fibre appeared to be free from queues on one of the busiest nights during the festive season
The hospitality industry will suffer from a lack of punters (Image: Queens Court Leeds).
Xmas Eve celebrations in Leeds were celebrated by groups of mostly young people who braved the windy and wet conditions.
Leeds’s city centre could not handle a crowd of people even with a 2-for-1 cocktail offer
A group of friends smiling for the camera on a quiet street near Leeds City Centre
In scenes that were repeated throughout the country, scores of chairs and tables remained empty.
On Christmas Eve, a couple strides across the street in Leeds City Centre.
This evening was Christmas Eve celebrations in Newcastle. A few drinkers had a last night out.
A Reveller wearing Santa Hat appears to be having a heated conversation with a Leeds bouncer.
Many young people chose to make Leeds their Christmas Eve redecorated by painting the streets in their favorite color.
It follows weeks of cancellations after England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty advised people to cut social interactions in the run up to the holidays.
Restaurants suffered especially when profitable parties at work were cancelled.
Although bars and nightclubs were allowed to continue to open, many people decided not to go in order to avoid getting Covid and be made to isolate for Christmas.
This comes at a time when hospital admissions for coronavirus are close to the threshold 400 set by the government for the introduction of lockdown restrictions in the country.
Recent data from the NHS shows that 386 people were admitted to the capital for the virus on December 22. This is a 92% increase on last week.
Boris Johnson will review the numbers on Monday and could impose further restrictions just in time to New Year’s Eve.