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The year 2021 has started in many countries around the world. As usual, Sydney in Australia kicked off the new year with colorful fireworks in front of the opera. This time no spectators were allowed due to the corona pandemic. European countries, including Austria, were quite cautious about the year’s sweep. Parties and fireworks have been canceled, including classic festivities like the New Year’s Eve Walk in Vienna.
Austria’s biggest party was canceled in mid-October. Usually hundreds of thousands flock there and transform Vienna’s city center into a mile-long party mile. Almost 4,000 police officers will be on duty in Austria on New Year’s Eve and will also monitor compliance with the Pyrotechnics Act. Basically, rockets and firecrackers are banned in the local area, even on New Years Eve. Mayors were free to issue exceptions for certain parts of the local area. Only a few creaks were heard in Vienna.
In Innsbruck, however, there was a public fireworks display. Those who weren’t able to watch it from home could follow it online via a live stream on the city’s marketing Facebook page. The occasional fireworks display had also drawn criticism. On the one hand, because of the costs of around 40,000 euros and, on the other, because of the situation of the Crown and the possible risk that people will be encouraged, contrary to exit restrictions, to meet in the street. City officials, however, spoke of a “sign of hope” for the new year and the return of some normalcy. At the same time, a call was made to the population to refrain from private fireworks.
In Austria, New Years Eve parties were banned due to 24-hour exit restrictions. At the end of the year, only one household could receive a maximum from one individual from another household.
Also in Germany there is a harsh lockdown for the second time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. There was a blanket ban on selling fireworks before New Year’s Eve. In Berlin, however, firecrackers could be heard clearly and fireworks could be seen in the sky. Police said the night in the German capital was unusually quiet. Germany’s biggest New Year’s Eve party and the fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate had been canceled. Private celebrations were only allowed on a small scale.
In many countries around the world, New Year’s Eve celebrations were more cautious than usual due to the corona pandemic; in Italy and France there were nightly curfews. French electronic music enthusiasts got their money’s worth. Two greats starred in online shows against the backdrop of Parisian monuments. Electropop pioneer Jean Michel Jarre (72) ushered in the new year at a virtual Notre-Dame. Star DJ David Guetta (53) delighted his fans with a recorded music performance in front of the Louvre. Also in Italy, many cities organized events on the Internet with stars of Italian music. In Rome, for example, rock star Gianna Nannini was popular.
In many countries of the world, the new year began much earlier: the islands of the South Sea of Samoa and Kiribati were the first in the world to enter the new year, at 11am Central European time. The New Years atmosphere was also subdued due to Corona.
An hour later, fireworks went off in New Zealand. Unlike many other countries, the island nation in the South Pacific has not registered any local corona cases for more than a month. Therefore, music festivals and fireworks shows were held with no limits on the number of visitors or other restrictions.
This time, no spectators were allowed to see the fireworks over Sydney Harbor and the Opera House in Australia. It only took seven minutes instead of twelve like the year before. Sydney was like a ghost town, as reporters reported. In the hours that followed, the Asian countries gradually followed: at 4 p.m. Japan and South Korea were on their way. The turn of the year followed at 5 p.m. in the Philippines and Malaysia, as well as in Taiwan and China.
There are no major crown restrictions in China anymore. However, New Year’s Eve is not particularly important to the Chinese either. According to your traditional lunar calendar, the new year doesn’t start until February. Only then is there a big wave of travel. However, fireworks went off in some cities on Friday morning.
Dubai welcomed the New Year with colorful fireworks and a laser show on the tallest building in the world. After the traditional digital countdown on the illuminated facade of the 828-meter-high Burj Khalifa in the largest city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the skyline lit up with a frenzy of colors at midnight. In Moscow, there was a huge fireworks display in the Kremlin at 10 pm CET despite the Corona curfew.
In other countries, people still have to be patient: parts of Brazil and Argentina can only ring in the New Year at 4:00 a.m. CET, followed by New York at 6:00 a.m., Los Angeles at 9:00 a.m. and Honolulu in Hawaii at 11:00 am
In New York, the “Ball Drop” in Times Square, a sparkling crystal ball falling onto a pole, is said to take place in front of a few people instead of the usual thousands.
It takes until 1pm CET on January 1 for the whole world to slide into the new year. Finally, there are the uninhabited islets of Baker Island and Howland Island in the Pacific.
