The bells of York Minster will ring out for New Year’s Eve to celebrate the end of 2023 and start of 2024.

In past years thousands of people have gathered outside York’s most well-known to wish each other well for the year to follow.

But in recent years the chimes of the bells fell silent due to the pandemic.

In 2020 the decades old tradition was put on hold due to fears over Covid, to avoid people meeting in large groups and risk spreading the disease.

At the time Superintendent Lindsey Butterfield, York and Selby Commander at North Yorkshire Police, warned that a those who broke the Tier 2 lockdown restrictions that were in place at the time ran the risk of being fined £200.

The announcement from the cathedral authorities also reinforced City of York Council's strategy at the time to prevent gatherings and maintain physical distancing in order to control the spread of the Covid in the city of York and the wider region.

The bells fell silent again in 2021, before returning in 2022.

And this year they will ring once again at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

A spokesperson for York Minster told The Press: “People have been gathering at York Minster to celebrate the New Year for decades if not longer.  We would just ask people to keep safe and enjoy the occasion.”

The Minster’s website states that the Minster’s bell ringers will ring in the new year “as the clock strikes midnight”.

“The sound of the cathedral’s bells is a York tradition that welcomes the start of the new year in joyous celebration,” it continues.

Cllr Michael Pavlovic, City of York Council’s executive member for housing, planning and safer communities, said the council welcomed residents and visitors celebrating the New Year in York and also called for them to do so safely.

"As in all cities across the UK, people in York gather to celebrate the start of a New Year,” he told The Press.

“We welcome residents and visitors to celebrate with us in our beautiful city and ask that they are respectful and consider the safety of themselves and others.

“We want everyone to start the new year in the right way, with happy memories.”

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Bars and restaurants around the Minster are expected to be packed on New Year’s Eve as people in York celebrate.

A New Year’s Eve Ball will take place in the Assembly Rooms, in Blake Street.

It is being organised by events company Noble Happenings, with tickets starting at £175.

The ball is being delivered by the same team that produced the sell-out Coronation Ball held in May, which saw hundreds of people on the waiting list for tickets and was listed by international leisure firm Time Out as one of the best Coronation events in Britain.