New Year’s Day in Sydney: Revellers recover after ringing in 2020
New Year’s Eve revellers once again made their way to Bondi Beach to crash after a big night out of partying. This comes as police commended the behaviour of crowds across Sydney and council staff collected about 45 tonnes of waste from the streets.
NSW
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It is a New Year’s Day tradition — where NYE revellers sleep on Bondi Beach after a night of partying.
And this year was no different, with scores of people crashing on the sand, jumping into the surf to wake up or just wanted to take in the sunrise to ring in 2020.
This comes as NSW Police commended the behaviour of New Year’s Eve revellers, with up to a million people who converged on Sydney Harbour for the fireworks display.
Overall, eight people were charged with number of offences, including assault police, resist police, assault, offensive behaviour.
“Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations are widely considered among the best in the world, so it was great to see everyone in the city last night living up to that reputation and acting responsibly,” Metropolitan Field Operations and Operation New Year’s Eve 2019 Commander, Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing, said.
“The fact that there were only a few reports of alcohol-related violence is a true reflection of how well-behaved the crowds were.
“For those continuing celebrations into the morning, our officers will maintain a highly-visible presence across the state to ensure all revellers make it home safely.
“Remember that alcohol affects your ability to assess risks and make responsible decisions, so please take care of one another and think about the consequences of your actions.”
The clean-up also began after crowds started to leave the city, with council cleaners hired every year to clear up the rubbish and wash down the streets.
Overnight council staff collected about 45 tonnes of waste from the streets.
Ambulance commissioner Dr Dominic Morgan on Wednesday said more than 2000 triple-0 calls were made between 5pm and 3am in NSW on New Year’s Eve.
Most call-outs were due to alcohol-related heath issues including violence, falls from balconies and stairs, and extreme intoxication.
“But the community were very well behaved and really assisted paramedics in going about their duties. I’m told there was a very great party atmosphere right across the (Sydney) waterways,” Dr Morgan said on Wednesday.
“We noticed that between midnight and 1am, generally our peak time, we were answering triple-0 calls at a rate of one every 15 seconds, a very busy time.”
Paramedics also responded to an allegedly targeted stabbing on George St in the Sydney CBD about 2.40am, with the victim in a stable condition.
The 12-minute midnight fireworks show – criticised in some quarters as a waste of money amid the state’s unprecedented bushfire crisis – wowed an estimated one million people lining the harbour foreshore and one billion watching around the world.
More than $2 million was raised for NSW bushfire and drought relief.
Originally published as New Year’s Day in Sydney: Revellers recover after ringing in 2020