Australia is preparing to celebrate its first New Year’s Eve without restrictions after two years of COVID disruption, with more than a million revelers expected to flock to Sydney Harbor to watch an elaborate fireworks display. Sydney is one of the first major cities in the world to ring in the New Year, attracting huge television audiences around the world with a public countdown and fireworks over the iconic Opera House.
Lockdowns at the end of 2020 and an increase in Omicron cases at the end of 2021 led to crowd restrictions and celebration restrictions. But curbside celebrations were lifted this year after Australia, like many countries around the world, reopened its borders and lifted social distancing restrictions.
Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney said “This New Year’s Eve we say Sydney is back as we kick off celebrations around the world and bring in the New Year with a bang, 2022 was another year of significant challenges as we continued to work to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but tonight we put the year behind us and look forward to 2023 with hope”.
A rainbow of color will light up Sydney Harbour, with 2,000 fireworks being set off from the Sydney Opera House’s four sails and 7,000 fireworks from more positions on the Sydney Harbor Bridge than ever before. For the first time in 12 years, fireworks will be launched from four rooftops to frame the spectacular show, organizers said. Before the pandemic, over a million people and a billion viewers from other parts of the world joined the celebrations at the venue in Sydney.
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