Sydney sets off what the city said was its most extravagant New Year pyrotechnics display ever as midnight arrives in Australia
6:00PM GMT 31 Dec 2013
13 Comments
The Sydney Opera House and harbour bridge sparkled with tons of exploding fireworks unleashed at midnight as Australia was one of the first countries in the world to celebrate the arrival of the New Year.
Sydney officials had promised that the Australian city's renowned pyrotechnics show would be more extravagant than ever, with more than 1.6 million revellers expected to line the harbour for a view.
Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour at midnight, ushering in the new year (Reuters)
Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour at midnight, ushering in the new year (Reuters)
The fireworks were launched from four sails of the Sydney Opera House for the first time in more than a decade. The local council said the fireworks feature that erupted on the Sydney Harbour Bridge was twice the size of last year's centrepiece of the show.
But there is competition from around the world for the most dramatic event to mark the first moments of 2014, with Dubai aiming to create the world's largest fireworks show. Home to world's tallest tower, Dubai is known for its glitz, glamour and over-the-top achievements, and this New Year's Eve the city is planning to break another record by creating the largest fireworks show ever.
Organisers plan to light up the city's coastline with a flying falcon made out of fireworks that moves across a massive man-made palm-shaped island alongside a countdown in fireworks. They say they will also create a burst of light out of fireworks to imitate a sunrise and dazzle spectators with a United Arab Emirates flag that could also break records for being the largest ever made out of fireworks.
Fireworks explode off the Sydney Opera House at midnight, ushering in the new year (Reuters)
Fireworks explode off the Sydney Opera House at midnight, ushering in the new year (Reuters)
The six-minute extravaganza will include 500,000 fireworks from 400 firing locations, all synchronized by 100 computers from stations across the city, said Barrett Wissman, co-chairman of IMG Artists that is managing the event. Guinness World Record officials will be on hand to measure the scale of the event.
Wissman said the display will cover 30 miles (48 kilometers) of seafront. "It is really mind-blowing, the size of this," he said.
Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Singapore have hosted extravagant celebrations.
In Hong Kong, tens of thousands turned out to watch the fireworks display over the southern Chinese city's famed Victoria Harbour.
Pyrotechnics were fired off near the Kowloon peninsula and from the tops of seven skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island. A British colonial-era canon was be fired at midnight in a tradition dating from the end of the Second World War.
In the Philippines, more than 260 people were injured by firecracker blasts and celebratory gunfire ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations, one of Asia's most violent revelries.
Department of Health spokesman Dr Eric Tayag said he expected the number of injuries to rise sharply when Filipinos ignite powerful firecrackers to end a year marked by tragic disasters, including a Nov 8 typhoon that left more than 6,100 dead and nearly 1,800 others missing.
"Many here are welcoming the new year after losing their mothers, fathers, siblings and children so you can imagine how it feels," said village chief Maria Rosario Bactol of Anibong community in Tacloban, the city worst hit by Typhoon Haiyan. "I tell them to face the reality, to move on and stand up but I know it will never be easy."
China saw in the New Year with light shows at two spectacular and historic locations - part of the Great Wall near Beijing and at the Bund waterfront in Shanghai.
In Beijing, one flower shop manager said he hoped the new year brought more customers.
"Since the government started its campaign to crack down on luxury spending and promote frugality, our business with government agencies has been in decline," said Mao Xiangfei. "In the past, government clients accounted for about 10 percent of our business, but now it's zero."
But in one polluted Chinese city, the celebrations were slated to be quieter as authorities in Wuhan in central Hubei province called off their annual New Year fireworks show and banned fireworks downtown to avoid making the smoggy air worse.
In Japan, thousands of visitors, some donning kimonos, prayed, rang bells and tossed coins as offerings at shrines, wishing for health, wealth and happiness. Temple bells rang the customary 108 times, for the 108 causes of suffering according to Buddhism, and to welcome in the Year of the Horse.
Japanese are hopeful about the economy for the first time in years after some signs of revival under the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, whose easing lending policies and pump-priming measures have been dubbed "Abenomics."
Among those upbeat about what the new year might bring is Junya Sakata, a 23-year-old Tokyo waiter looking forward to taking sommelier classes next year so he can move up in his career.
"I hope the economy will keep improving, building up to the 2020 Olympics," he said, which will be held in Tokyo. "So many things happened this year, but I was able to grow. Maybe next year I will find a girlfriend."
Edited by David Wastell
