I got to spend this New Year’s Eve in Sydney, Australia, enjoying the spectacular fireworks show. Actually, I got to see two fireworks shows. The first one was at 9 p.m., at Darling Harbor, and the second one was the famous midnight show. It lasted 12 minutes, and lit up all of Sydney. From our hotel room I saw four sets of fireworks go off, surrounding the Sydney Harbor Bridge, as well as fireworks being shot off from the tops of buildings. A local radio station played the music to accompany the show, so even in the hotel room, we got the full effect. (Interestingly, I’ve heard a lot of people complain about American music, yet most of the fireworks show was accompanied to modern American music: Beyonce, Keisha, Lady Gaga, etc.)
The theme was “Make Your Mark,” symbolized by an “X.” Australia has gone green, and plans to be almost carbon neutral by 2030. Starting this decade, it plans on making even more of an effort.
Back on the East Coast, New York City celebrated with its usual ball drop and several fireworks shows. It seems like the whole world celebrates New Year’s Eve with fireworks, and in New York it happened in Central Park, South St. Seaport, and Prospect Park. Hoboken also had fireworks, on Adams Street. Next year maybe I’ll see them.
Personally, I love New Year’s Eve, but some people see it like Valentine’s Day: an arbitrary day of celebration. Early Roman calendars used to start the year in March, which makes the names of months make much more sense. For example, in Latin, November means nine, and December means ten.
NYE Numbers (according to The Daily Telegraph):
- 43 vantage points around the Harbor to watch the fireworks show
- 11,000 pyrotechnic shells used
- 5 Indigenous vessels “cleansed” the Harbor from negative spirits
- 300 extra taxis on the road (to take people home)
- 15 months to plan NYE in Sydney
- 20,000 people watched around the Opera House
- 1.5 million people watched the show around the Harbor
- $5 million to fund the show
For more information about the Sydney NYE fireworks, read my post, “New Years Eve Fireworks, Sydney, Australia.”
