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China and New Zealand are largely devoid of new corona infections and have already celebrated New Year’s Eve without restrictions. In many countries, there are sometimes strict rules for a quiet night.
Farewell to the Corona 2020 year should be easy for many people, even if the celebrations around the world are very different. While New Year’s Eve celebrations are only possible to a very limited extent in most countries, the celebrations in New Zealand were similar to every year.
Music festivals and fireworks shows were held with no restrictions on the number of visitors or other crown restrictions. The country has not had any local cases of corona for more than a month. In Auckland there was a light show around Harbor Bridge and Sky Tower, followed by a five-minute fireworks show at midnight. One of the biggest New Year’s Eve events is the three-day Rhythm and Vines music festival, which takes place near the town of Gisborne, in the northeast of the North Island.
China: Celebrate without restrictions
Because, according to official information, there are hardly any infections in China, the new year has also started in the People’s Republic without major restrictions. In some cities fireworks were set off at midnight. In the metropolis of Wuhan, where the global health crisis began a year ago, thousands of people raised balloons into the night sky. However, like New Year’s Eve, it is not a particularly important holiday in China. According to the traditional lunar calendar, the new year doesn’t start until February.
The usual fireworks display also took place next to the tall Taipei 101 skyscraper in neighboring Taiwan, which has reported just seven deaths and 700 confirmed infections since the pandemic began.
Fireworks in Sydney, no spectators
A different image emerged in Sydney, Australia, which ushered in the year 2021 ten hours earlier than Central Europe. Instead of the usual big New Year’s Eve celebration in the harbor, this year there was only one seven-minute show, with almost no audience.
Usually the show attracts more than a million people each year. This year the area around the port was cordoned off and the popular parks were closed. From the outside, only those who had a restaurant reservation or were one of the five allowed guests of a local resident could enter central Sydney.
More fireworks in Greece
In Greece, the New Year was celebrated throughout the country with huge fireworks; there was much more roar than before. The media reported “one of the most spectacular fireworks displays of all time.”
Fireworks on New Year’s Eve are not as common in Greece as they are in Germany. Greeks traditionally play cards on New Year’s Eve. Because there was a Corona exit ban this year, the cities outnumbered each other in terms of pyrotechnics.
South Africa: candles instead of firecrackers
Many South Africans followed a call from President Cyril Ramaphosa to light candles instead of fireworks in memory of the victims of the pandemic. The gesture should also be understood as a show of solidarity with medical professionals who are at the forefront in the fight against coronavirus.
New Year’s Eve was also quietly celebrated in Japan this year. Due to a new record number of new corona infections in Tokyo, Governor Yuriko Koike asked residents to spend the New Year with family and stay home. In Moscow, there was a huge fireworks display in the Kremlin at 10 pm CET despite the Corona curfew.
Crown restrictions in many countries
Many countries can look forward to an equally uneventful end of the year. Due to the corona pandemic, many parties and fireworks were canceled, for example in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Amsterdam and London. In metropolises such as Berlin, Rome and Istanbul, the police control the existing exit restrictions and bans in large numbers.
In Italy there were severe exit restrictions. Between 10 p.m. on New Years Eve and 7 a.m. on New Years morning, the 60 million citizens are even prohibited from going out with only a few exceptions. The government has banned the parties. A maximum of two adult guests from another household are allowed to sit at the table for New Years Eve dinner.
