The New Year's best bashes

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O2 have fun: Top DJs and acts at Hed Kandi for New Year's Eve

Blinding sets: Lower-league spinners will be on offer at Hed Kandi

Show time: Gambling and girls at Empire

Style: Dinner at The Lanesborough Hotel

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• Clubbing listings

Seeing in the new year in proper party style needs planning. You don't want to be traipsing around Soho at 11.30pm, searching in vain for somewhere to drink and let off a midnight party popper. Instead, round up your mates, book a ticket (and a cab home) in advance and dance, drink and eat your way merrily into 2008. Here's London Lite's pick of the best New Year's Eve parties.

COOL CLUBS

The Final Countdown @ Canvas
After 25 years of awesome parties, Canvas is closing its doors, and who better to call on for a last hurrah than Bugged Out!, secretsundaze and Trailer Trash? And as you'd expect from three of London's most exciting club nights, they've a line-up to die for, including Andrew Weatherall, Carl Craig, Giles Smith, James Priestly, Klaxons' tour DJ Nadia Ksaiba, female UK rapper MC Chickaboo and more.
Canvas, Goods Yard, off York Way, Islington, 9pm-7am, 7am, £24.50+booking fee in advance from ticketweb.co.uk

Slaang Vs Issst @ Secret Location
Following their storming warehouse party last year, all eyes are on the superhero team-up of Slaang and Issst to do the business again. This rock and dance spectacular mixes indie and electro for a rave-hungry crowd in a Shoreditch warehouse. Dance floor carnage from Infadels, Para One, Jamie Jones and Sh*tdisco.
Secret Location, Shoreditch, 10pm-7am, £16.50 (early bird), £22.50 (includes after-party pass), otherwise tickets £38 from ticketweb.co.uk

Platform 12 @ The Key
It has been a great year for the Platform 12 team - one that's seen them make The Key their own. It's fitting that the last ever party before the place is demolished should be their electro and breaks bash. With its flashing dancefloor, gilt-edged mirrors and chandeliers, The Key is a salubrious option for the warehouse-weary clubber, and the line-up for this end of an era is similarly special. Hybrid, Cicada, The Rogue Element and Marine Parade signing Alex Metric play live.
Platform 12 @ The Key, Lazer Road, Goods Yard, King's Cross, tickets £20 (early bird) or £30, from platform12music.co.uk or ticketweb.co.uk

Friends & Family @ Cargo
The hip hop and block party beats of The Nextmen usher in the new year at this funky party, and if you've not seen these deck wizards in action you're in for a treat. They are joined by Ross Allen and Ashley Beedle, who will mix everything from reggae to disco to hip hop, while The Killer Meters play live. Cargo's intimate vibe should prove the perfect setting.
Cargo, 83 Rivington Street, Moorgate, 8pm-5am, £25 in advance before Xmas, £30 before new year, from ticketweb.co.uk, £35 on the door.

Hed Kandi @ The O2
On the night when big-name DJs push up their prices, Hed Kandi has booked lower-league spinners, reasoning that they'll still play blinding sets, freeing up more finances for their awesome production. This includes trapeze artists, glitter cannons, pyrotechnics, and a VIP lounge run by Stereo Sushi with its own lift to the dancefloor. Line-up includes Booty Luv, Phil Faversham, and Howard from Take That.
Hed Kandi @ IndigO2, The O2, Gate 3A, Millennium Way, Greenwich, 10pm-5am, £40 (early bird), £50 (standard), £85 (early bird VIP) or £100 (standard VIP) from hedkandi.com/events

Closer @ Halo Warehouse
The final party at this King's Cross warehouse promises to be a corker with those techno gods Luke Slater and James Ruskin. Expect powerful electronic body music across two rooms, and there's a large covered smoking terrace for those who must. Be prepared for a full-on crowd.
Closer @ Halo Warehouse, Goods Yard, off York Way, King's Cross, 8pm-very late, £20 (early bird) or £26 (standard) +booking fee from ticketweb.co.uk

SPECIAL EVENTS

Reveillon 2008 @ Guanabara
The London School of Samba leads carnivaltastic celebrations. Mark Robertson DJs - expect the crowd to shake their thang in unholy fashion.
Parker Street, WC2, 8pm-5am, £50 for a reserved table, Brazilian starters and one caipirinha, £30 standard with one caipirinha (ticketweb.co.uk)

New Year's Eve Jamboree Special @ The Lock Tavern
Forties dress, bands, DJs, some "awful poetry" apparently, and DJs The Filthy Dukes for a right old indie rave-up at one of Camden's oldest boozers.
35 Chalk Farm Road, Camden (020 7482 7163), 7pm-4am, £18

Goodbye To Berlin @ CellarDoor
For £10, you get all the Sally Bowles decadence of a champagne reception, free snuff, goodies and a Thirties-styled Berlin cabaret soirÈe.
Zero Aldwych, WC2, 8pm-4am, £10 (020 7240 8848)

Club Bar & Dining
Soho's Club Bar and Dining is hosting a relaxed and glam bash with music from Chase Mo and DJ Dezzi D.
21 Warwick Street, W1 (020 7734 1002), 7pm-3am, tickets £30 including glass of champagne at midnight

Casino @ The Empire
If you fancied Vegas for new year but didn't book in time, try this: gambling, good times and showgirls. Dinner at Flame restaurant is £100 pp; cocktails and canapÈs in the Shadow Bar, £50 pp.
Empire Building, Leicester Square, 8pm-4am, (0871 971 6123)

New Year's Eve @ Chelsea Football Club
Stamford Bridge becomes a party paradise with a casino, DJs, illusionists, food, and bubbly flowing from a ruby champagne fountain.
Chelsea Football Ground, Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, Chelsea, 8pm-1am, tickets £135 newyearsevelondon.co.uk

HOTEL GLAMOUR

New Year's Eve Gala Dinner in The Conservatory at The Lanesborough
Bring in the new year with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra. The glamorous night starts with champagne and canapés followed by a four-course dinner, entertainment from the sensational orchestra and fireworks.
Hyde Park Corner, SW1, 7.30pm-2am. £475pp, details 020 7259 5599

New Year's Eve Jazz Extravaganza at The Park Lane Hotel
Johnny Miller and his band will play Sixties and Seventies R'n'B to make sure you see in 2008 with soul in the gorgeous Palm Court.
Piccadilly, W1. A la carte menu with a £10 cover charge if you are not a hotel guest. Bookings 020 7290 7328

White Tie & Diamond Ball @ The Grove
A limited number of non-residential tickets are available for the ball, which begins with a champagne & canapé reception, followed by a five-course feast in the Amber Suite, live music and gambling.
Chandler's Cross, Hertfordshire. £250pp. Call 01923 294204 or email reservations@ thegrove.co.uk

NYE @ The Zetter
See in the new year in cool Clerkenwell, at this super-stylish hotel. Champagne and a five-course meal in the restaurant are followed by DJs and dancing until 2am.
St John's Square, 86-88 Clerkenwell Road, Clerkenwell, 8pm-2am, £82, thezetter.com

NYE @ Mimosa Bar & Restaurant, Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel
Kick off with champagne and canapés at the Mimosa bar or on the heated outdoor terrace, or barmen will mix you delicious cocktails to get you in the party mood before a four-course meal.
21 Lowndes Street, SW1, £47pp, 020 7823 1234

 

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