The National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash returns to the OVO Arena Wembley

​Since the first National Lottery draw took place on November 19, 1994, in a TV show hosted by Noel Edmonds, players of the games have helped to raise over £50billion for good causes.

More than 700,000 transformative projects have received awards over the past 30 years, and it’s safe to say that most people across the UK will have benefited from a National Lottery-funded project at some point in their life.

As the National Lottery continues to celebrate its special birthday, its annual New Year’s Eve Big Bash will look at its impact and explain how the money supports our nation’s heritage, the arts and sport, as well as helping grassroots projects in every local community.

But as well as blowing its own trumpet, the National Lottery is also hosting a huge unforgettable party, which was pre-recorded in front of 10,000 people at the OVO Arena Wembley on Wednesday, 4 December.

Being televised this evening to help get the nation in the mood for the big countdown later, it is hosted by Fleur East and Vernon Kay, and includes performances and surprising collaborations from some of the nation’s leading musical artists.

“I’m absolutely delighted to announce that I will be hosting The National Lottery’s Big Bash at London’s OVO Wembley Arena alongside @fleureast,” Vernon wrote on Instagram.

“The event will be a huge celebration of the incredible year, with some amazing performances.”

Fleur added: “It’s going to an epic end-of-the-year party.”

First up, Craig David, who released his single In Your Hands, based on the children’s song He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands, in September, presents his popular DJ show TS5.

Then, Stockport band Blossoms will be playing music from their fifth album, Gary, which claimed the No 1 spot on the UK Album Chart in September.

Influencer and boxer KSI will be performing a track from his forthcoming album.

Former Little Mix star Perrie launched her career as a solo artist in 2024 with the singles Forget About Us, Tears and You Go Your Way.

Fans at the OVO Arena Wembley can expect to hear some of those hits tonight.

Plus, Olly Alexander takes us back to the summer when he represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, with his song Dizzy.

And the night continues with a performance from the brilliant London-based House Gospel Choir, which combines two distinct musical genres – house music and gospel.

Finally, there’s an exclusive routine from Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo, featuring countless feats of jaw-dropping acrobatics including aerial acts swinging from Chandeliers and floating over the audience.

In between these performances, Richard Armitage and Roman Kemp will shine a light on the memorable sporting and cultural moments and extraordinary stories from the past 12 months.

They will be paying an emotional tribute to honour the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and reflecting on the success of the athletes, many of whom were funded by the National Lottery, who did the nation proud at the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.