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New Zealand

Covid-19 coronavirus: Auckland Council planning New Year's Celebration

5 minutes to read
The Sky Tower lit up with an impressive fireworks display to welcome 2020 (little did we know). Photo / Jason Oxenham

The Sky Tower lit up with an impressive fireworks display to welcome 2020 (little did we know). Photo / Jason Oxenham

NZ Herald

London's iconic New Year's Eve celebrations have already been cancelled. In Sydney, there are calls to can the iconic fireworks, despite the Premier assuring they can still go ahead.

While a lot can still change between now and the end of December, Auckland Council is still hoping to host a celebration to welcome 2021.

Plans are yet to be finalised but ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) has confirmed it is working with SkyCity, Vector Lights and Heart of the City to put on a celebration.

Despite closed borders to tourists and no plans for a transtasman bubble in time for the celebrations, Steve Armitage, GM of Destination at ATEED says this year's New Year's events, will be "a golden opportunity for us to showcase our region to an international audience".

Auckland is the first major city in the world to welcome in 2021 and being able to celebrate it would be, in itself, cause for celebration, as it would mean the city has got Covid-19 firmly under control.

Fireworks explode off the Auckland Sky Tower for the 2020 New Year celebrations. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Fireworks explode off the Auckland Sky Tower for the 2020 New Year celebrations. Photo / Jason Oxenham

"Alongside New Year's Eve, we have a line-up of events and activities planned for the summer to provide a real stimulus to the region's economy. One of these is Summernova, Auckland's newest summer highlight, which is designed to wrap around Auckland's hosting of the 36th America's Cup presented by PRADA," Armitage said.

Auckland will be hosting a number of events throughout summer, within regulations of the alert level the city is at at the time.

Calls to can Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks

A debate has been raging over whether Sydney's iconic New Year's Eve fireworks will go ahead this year but now the state's premier has vowed to make the display happen, even if her government has to pay for it.

Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney Clover Moore has pushed back on the fireworks display, saying it posed too much of a risk to hold the event during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, on Thursday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the fireworks would be going ahead "in one form or another".

Berejiklian told The Daily Telegraph the NSW government was pushing back against resistance from the City of Sydney and was even willing to pay for the New Year's Eve display if that is what it took.

"This has been a challenging year," Berejiklian told the publication. "We want to offer the people of NSW — and people around the world — a sign of hope."

It is understood crisis talks have been held between the premier, senior ministers and the Sydney mayor to discuss how the event could go ahead safely.

Moore has continually thrown doubt on whether the fireworks display will go ahead, saying she fears it would encourage people to break Covid-19 restrictions.

"I just think it will be too difficult," she said earlier this month. "We could not handle another lockdown in the city of Sydney."

She previously suggested that even if people were told to stay at home, the fireworks would encourage them to turn out to watch the display, heightening the risk of a "superspreader" event.

However, NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet challenged the mayor, arguing while it might be a difficult task the government "does difficult well".

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"This pandemic is difficult and we're beating the virus," he said.

"I want to continue to work with the Lord Mayor. We believe we should have the fireworks not just for the economic benefit, but for the hope that it gives our citizens.

"Our city is open for business. And that's not just a beacon of hope for people in our city, but globally."

London cancels New Year's Eve celebrations as Covid-19 cases continue to rise

There will be no fireworks and no fanfare when London enters 2021.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced the iconic fireworks display and New Year's Eve celebrations will not go ahead in London this year, as coronavirus cases continue to rise across the UK.

Khan said there would be "nothing happening" in London to mark the end of the year as the city "can't afford" to have crowds congregating.

London's New Year celebrations attract tens of thousands of people every year who celebrate alongside the banks of the Thames and watch the fireworks display.

"I can tell you there will not be fireworks on New Year's Eve this year like in previous years; we simply can't afford to have the numbers of people who congregate on New Year's Eve congregating," the mayor told LBC.

Khan says the city is working on a different type of celebration, which people can enjoy from home.

"What we're working on, we're not in a position to explain what it is yet, but what we're working on is something that people can enjoy from the comfort and safety of their living rooms on TV. As soon as we've managed to bottom that out I'll be letting Londoners know and people across the country," he said.

- Additional reporting by news.com.au.