[ad_1]
Of: TT
Published:
Photograph: Rob Griffith / AP / TT
Fireworks over Sydney Harbor Bridge. The photo is from a previous year. Stock Photography.
Societies in crisis. Economic collapse. 1.7 million dead. The year of the pandemic 2020 goes down in history as one of the worst in human memory.
Now we turn the pages, and the first to toast the new year are the Pacific islands of Samoa and Kiribati.
Despite the fact that many are eager to put 2020 behind us, this year’s New Years celebrations will not be business as usual.
Corona infection continues to be rampant, in some places worse than ever, prompting cities around the world, from Sydney to Rome, to adapt the holidays to prevailing circumstances. After a year marked by death and misery, the champagne crowds are largely absent; Instead, millions of people are allowed to watch fireworks and the like from the TV couch.
Islands above all
First, at 11 o’clock Swedish time, the clock strikes Samoa and Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean at midnight. Only 26 hours later, 2021 will make its entrance around the world, as the uninhabited coral islands Baker-Howland Islands enter the new year.
The Pacific islands have survived relatively smoothly through the pandemic, but closed borders, curfews and closures mean that New Year’s celebrations still look different this year. The Taumeasina Island Resort hotel in Samoa is open to a limited number of guests, but there will be no bubbles at noon.
“We have to stop serving alcohol at eleven,” Tuiataga hotel manager Nathan Bucknall told AFP.
Traditional fireworks
Sydney, Australia’s million dollar city, traditionally launches a stunning New Year’s fireworks display at Sydney Harbor Bridge, at 2pm Swedish time. However, large crowds are not expected: the city has introduced new restrictions after a corona eruption with about 150 new cases.
Instead, all “Sydney residents” who do not have a balcony overlooking the harbor can sit in front of the television, but not in a group of more than five people.
In Dubai, the authorities have taken a less strict stance. Thousands of Emirates and tourists are expected to see a pyrotechnic and laser show at the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, at 9pm Swedish time.
Deferred curfew
Two hours later, at 11pm Swedish time, the people of Beirut can touch their glasses, as the usual nightly curfew in honor of the day does not take effect until three at night. Bars, restaurants and nightclubs are open and throw big parties to celebrate the New Year, and maybe even give a moment of oblivion after all the hardships in the wake of the big explosion in the port in August, which killed about 200 people. , injured thousands and equalized large parts. of the Lebanese capital with the land.
When the clock strikes twelve in Sweden, Italians also celebrate the New Year. In Rome, a large bonfire is lit in the former Circus Maximus racecourse, which is broadcast live with a two-hour musical program, according to AFP.
Honor healthcare professionals
An hour later, American singer Patti Smith calls the New Year in London, which was hit hard during the pandemic.
The 74-year-old man will honor health professionals who have been victims of COVID-19 in a ceremony that is shown on a large television screen in Piccadilly Circus and broadcast on YouTube.
Published:
