New Year’s Eve: everything you need to know to ring in the new year

With New Year’s Eve upon us, this is all you need to know to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome in the new year.

What happens

Skycity fireworks and vector lights on Auckland Harbor Bridge:

A five-minute fireworks and light show will begin at midnight. The moment will also be broadcast on TVNZ 1, 2 and Duke. The best places to see the light show are the boardwalk, Devonport, Herne Bay, Te Atatū Peninsula, Bastion Pt, Northcote and Mt Eden and Bayswater Marina.

Before the fireworks, head to America’s Cup Village to celebrate with free entertainment starting at 2pm at Silo Park and starting at 5pm at Te Wero Island. The Britomart Block Party NYE Festival will also take place on Galway St and Britomart Square, from 7 pm to 4 am.

New Years Eve in Wellington: Welcome to 2021 with a family night of live music, a light show and fireworks at Whairepo Lagoon by Frank Kitts Park. The night begins at 8 pm with Electric Avenue and a children’s favorite hour until the children’s countdown at 9 pm. This is followed by one more hour of songs until Orchestra Wellington takes over from 10 PM to midnight.

The Edge NYE20: Black Seeds will welcome 2021 with a free concert at Christchurch’s Hagley Park. Edge NYE20 will kick off with family fun at 6pm and a children’s countdown around 8pm before a lineup of local talents take the stage and take you to the midnight fireworks display.

New Years Eve in Queenstown: 2021 will hit the Queenstown lakeside with a great lineup of live music on two stages, entertainment, food and a spectacular fireworks display that will light up the night sky at midnight. Starting at 7.30pm Haven, Calico and Freefall will perform on the main stage, while DJ Pops and DJ Cuz are among the acts on the DJ stage starting at 9pm.

Rhythm and Vines and Rhythm and Alps 2020: Bene, Shapeshifter, LAB, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Six60, and Broods are among the artists performing at the three-day festivals at Waiohika Estate Vineyard in Gisborne and Cardrona Valley in Wanaka.

The weather

It’s shaping up to be a dry New Years Eve, but you’ll have to bundle up if you plan to ring in the New Year outdoors.

The upper part of the country appears to be the warmest place to say goodbye to 2020, with a high of 25 ° C and a low of 14 ° C forecast for Whangārei, although there could be some showers in the afternoon.

Auckland is not far behind, with a high of 24 ° C and a low of 15 ° C.

Good weather is expected throughout the day in Wellington, on the west coast and in the center of the North Island, although temperatures are likely to be slightly below 22 ° C.

The forecast for today in most of the country is good weather. However, the west coast may see some spotty rain later in the day and parts of the interior of Southland, Otago and South Canterbury could see downpours turning into rain overnight, according to Weatherwatch.

It could be a wet night for those heading to Rhythm and Alps, with rain forecast for tonight around Wanaka.

On the North Island, the day can start with a few patches of drizzle around Gisborne and the Hawke’s Bay shoreline, but it should clear by dusk.

MetService meteorologist Andy Best said the upper part of the North Island is likely to get temperatures of 20 ° C to 24 ° C during the day and the rest of the North Island will be between 20 ° C and 22 ° C. C. Night-time lows were expected to be 10-12 ° C in most locations.

As for the South Island, Alexandra and Wanaka could reach 25 ° C or 26 ° C, but the rest of the island is likely to be between 20 ° C and 21 ° C. Overnight, the temperature in most parts he would be in his lower teens, he said.

Stay Safe

“If it’s not tested, don’t take it.” That’s the advice from the drug control organization Know Your Stuff.

They said there was only a small amount of MDMA available and that half of the drugs that were supposed to be MDMA contain dangerous cathinones, also known as bath salts.

Dubbed this as the “cathinones summer,” Know Your Stuff’s Dr. Jez Weston revealed a massive increase in the amount of substances detected.

“The most common cathinone right now is eutilone. We saw small amounts last year and
now there are lots around. This is a big change and bad news, “Weston said.

Weston cautioned that users were redosing the drug, which offers a shorter “high” than MDMA, and then found themselves unable to sleep for days.

“Initially, eutilone feels like MDMA, euphoria, but it goes away after an hour or so. You may think it’s weak MDMA and be tempted to take more. Don’t.”

Police said their advice on illegal drugs was always not to use them.

“Illicit drugs are generally manufactured and / or imported by people who put profit first and do not consider the health and well-being of users.”

The police also asked people to drink responsibly: first eat something substantial, have a glass of water between each alcoholic drink, plan how they will get home and have the money to pay for them.

They also urged people to watch out for their friends, make sure their phone is fully charged before going out, never leave their drinks unattended, and stay in groups when they walk home.

The New Zealand Alcoholic Beverage Council reiterated the police messages and reminded people that it was okay not to drink low or non-alcoholic beverages or to drink and savor beverages slowly to keep celebrations safe and social.