Adelaide City Council replaces New Year’s Eve midnight fireworks with street parties in Adelaide CBD

Adelaide’s year won’t end with a bang, as the City Council prepares to scrap the midnight fireworks show for the second year in a row. Will it ever return?

A traditional New Year’s Eve fireworks display at Elder Park has been ruled out for the second time because of Covid-19, with a permanent halt under investigation.

Adelaide City Council instead is proposing to spend $371,000 on a smaller fireworks show for families at 9.30pm after sundown, street parties known as Midnight Moments and a large street dinner where attendees will be encouraged to spend the night in the city.

In a report to councillors, staff said this year’s “reimagined” New Year’s Eve created oppor­tunities for attracting people into the city on a ­“traditionally quiet” night for hotels, bars and restaurants.

“The proposed approach for 2021 is to move away from a mass gathering, family friendly event at Elder Park and move towards activating streets and precincts in the city for people to celebrate,” it said.

“We have designed an event based on what both businesses and patrons would like to experience at a NYE event, and an event that will drive visitation to the city that benefits hospitality venues.”

The 9pm fireworks at Elder Park for New Year's Eve in Adelaide, 2019. Picture: AAP / Morgan Sette

The move follows the cancellation last December of the Elder Park fireworks display because of Covid-19 restrictions on large public gatherings.

The council developed its new strategy following public consultation and meetings last month with officials from SA Health and SA Police.

The plan will be discussed with elected members at a workshop on Tuesday night before being presented to a full council meeting next week for approval.

The staff report said the “reimagined event” could “scale up or down depending on the (Covid-19) restrictions and operating environment at the time”.

“It will be designed to spread audiences throughout the city and present businesses with opportunities to leverage off street and pocketed activities,” it said.

Market research had shown the earlier fireworks display at Elder Park was popular with families while the midnight display had mixed support from young adults and older people.

The staff report said people aged between 18 and 35 wanted to celebrate New Year’s Eve with their friends.

Fireworks were not such a big priority as a festival or party they could attend.

Older families or couples said they wanted to spend New Year’s Eve with family and friends, with a meal and fireworks as key ingredients.

The report said feedback from the Australian Hotels Association found publicans and nightclubs did not believe the Elder Park event generated activity in most of the city.

While Hindley St was usually busy on New Year’s Eve, other parts of the city were quiet, with many businesses not opening because of public holiday penalty rates.

“Representatives do not see the traditional event as beneficial for visitation to their premises and it does not act as a driver to open on NYE,” said the staff report.

Council staff said it was important to use new events such as Midnight Moments where streets would be closed for light shows, live music, small fireworks displays and outdoor dining to generate more activity in other parts of the city.

Council staff said they were working on a five-year strategy which permanently replaced the Elder Park event with citywide activity, rather than a large fireworks display.

New Year’s Eve this year will be on a Friday night.