Crowds flock to city celebration zones to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks and laser show
The morning-after clean-up has been carried out after hundreds of thousands of revellers partied in Melbourne to celebrate New Year’s Eve, although festivities were marred by two stabbings on the Mornington Peninsula and close to 300 incidents of illegal fireworks.
Victoria
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The clean-up after Victoria’s largest New Year’s Eve celebration in recent history has been carried out with many popular revelry sites scattered with rubbish.
St Kilda beach was one of the main victims with plastic cups, fast food bags and other various debris spread along the foreshore area.
Some chose to remain on the beach from the night before, waiting around to see the first sunrise of 2025.
In the city, dedicated workers were seen pressure-cleaning the Federation Square steps from the grime of the 31st, as well as picking up litter from the streets.
New Year’s Eve in Melbourne
Melbourne’s city centre was packed with hundreds of thousands of people who soaked up the sunshine before setting in for the fireworks extravaganza and laser display.
About 500,000 revellers partied the night away at the dedicated celebration zones at Docklands, Flagstaff Gardens, Treasury Gardens and the Shrine of Remembrance.
The area around Flinders St Station, Princes Bridge and Fed Square were jam-packed as the clock approached and passed midnight, with people crammed in shoulder to shoulder.
Children were delighted by the early city fireworks display which began at 9.30pm, following hours of live music and family-friendly entertainment.
The midnight fireworks and laser spectacular – touted as the biggest New Year’s Eve rooftop laser display in the southern hemisphere – did not disappoint.
The city skyline was lit up as fireworks were launched from dozens of high-rise towers – the show delighting even those in the outer suburbs of Melbourne.
Two stabbings on Mornington Peninsula
Two people including a teen were stabbed in incidents on the Mornington Peninsula as police responded to 52 incidents of assault across the state.
In one incident at Blairgowrie, it is alleged a 17-year-old was walking along Point Nepean Rd when he was approached by a group, which allegedly included two teenage boys, about 5.45pm.
The victim was stabbed multiple times.
He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers later located two teenagers who were allegedly involved in the attack.
A 16-year-old Yarra boy has been charged with intentionally causing injury and bailed to appear at a children’s court at a later date.
A 16-year-old Knox boy was released pending further enquiries.
Police are also investigating a stabbing in Sorrento.
Officers have been told a fight broke out between a group of youths on Point Nepean Road about 2am.
It is believed a man, 19, was slashed with an edged weapon during the incident.
He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
No arrests have been made over that incident.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, with dashcam/CCTV footage or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
Victorian Police on Wednesday said they seized 23 weapons including knives, swords and a machete across the Melbourne CBD, St Kilda and Geelong.
They also responded to close to 300 incidents relating the illegal use of fireworks which caused several grassfires in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Emergency services responded to a blaze in Glenroy on where firework remnants were found.
Police also seized two large plastic tubs of fireworks at Safety Beach and St Kilda.
People also reported witnessing illegal fireworks in regional areas like Mallacoota, where locals are still recovering from the the fires that raised at least 300 homes.
Speaking on 3AW on New Year’s Day, an older woman from Mallacoota said tourists at one address had set off fireworks on three separate occasions despite being warned not to by local police.
She said it was an insult to locals who lost their homes in the devastating 2020 bushfires.
Assistant Commissioner Chris Gilbert said authorities were “overwhelmingly pleased” by the behaviour of the majority of revellers, but added it was “disappointing to see a significant number of fireworks related incidents across the state”.
“Right across the state, we saw the community come out to their local areas, beaches or city to celebrate the new year,” he said.
“There were only a small number of people who did the wrong thing, but they were dealt with swiftly by police, so the atmosphere was in no way spoiled.”
Ambulance Victoria reported that there were 60 emergency cases across the CBD and Docklands overnight, with seven people taken to hospital.
Metropolitan Regional Director Michael Georgiou said that paramedics responded to several incidents, including falls, assaults and drug or alcohol cases.
“Our workload built up gradually throughout the night with the largest spike in emergency cases between midnight and 2am,” he said.
“With more than 60 people seeking our assistance in the city alone – in addition to our usual caseload in metropolitan and regional areas — it is pleasing to have seen very few cases of a serious nature.”
Flinders Street Station crush
There were crowd control issues around Flinders Street Station as the clock approached midnight.
People were packed like sardines heading south along Princes Bridge as more and more people joined the mass of bodies.
In chaotic scenes, revellers jumped barriers and barged their way through the crush to try to reunite with loved ones.
Spirits remained largely high amid the standstill, with loud cheers greeting the midnight moment.
“This is about the worst spot we could have picked,” one young man joked to his group of mates as fireworks filled the Melbourne sky.
Major regional centres including Geelong, Bendigo and Shepparton were also lit up, as well as beachside hotspots at the Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island.
The beautiful weather will continue into the New Year with warm, sunny conditions predicted for the rest of the week.
Melbourne is expected to reach a top of 23C on Wednesday.
Police were out in force during New Year’s celebrations, with hundreds of additional officers keeping an eye out for troublemakers.
The theme for this year was “all that sparkles” with revellers urged to dress in their “sequined best”.
Lord Mayor Nick Reece said Melbourne’s celebration set the standard for the rest of the world.
“As one of the first cities to cheer as the clock strikes midnight, we’ll be showing the rest of the world how it’s done,” he said in the lead-up to the festivities.
Revellers share 2024 highlights, goals for 2025
Sam Jones spent the night with his family at Cowes Foreshore at Phillip Island.
“We love holidaying down here – we come frequently and it’s a great place to relax, unwind, enjoy the community and spend some time with our family,” the 36-year-old said.
He said his son Finn was the best thing about 2024.
“He’s brought some wonderful experiences and great joy to us and to add to his brother Raffy,” Mr Jones said.
Shane Johnson and Glenda Mozo enjoyed the fireworks from in front of the boatsheds at Southbank.
Looking ahead to 2025, Mr Johnson said he wanted to see his beloved Richmond have a good year in the AFL.
“Hopefully we improve with all those new draft picks but it will be hard without Dusty (Martin) there,” he said.
The Hotel Esplanade in St Kilda was a popular spot for revellers.
Taylor from Windsor said she was more concerned with dancing and live music than seeing the fireworks.
“We decided to hit The Espy after we saw their line-up for the New Year’s Eve party,” she said.
“Good friends and good music is all we need.”
At the Shrine of Remembrance, 22-year-old James Galtieri was ready to see in the new year with his excited cousins, visiting from Italy.
“I’ve just been travelling for seven months so I’ve had a pretty awesome 2024,” Mr Galtieri said.
The IT technician said the best country he visited was Turkey.
When it came to goals for 2025, the young man was keeping it simple.
“Make some gains in the gym and make some bread, earn a bit of money,” he said with a laugh.
Belgrave woman Leonnie Nodine travelled to Phillip Island to enjoy the region’s festivities.
She set up her picnic rug with her family early for the New Year’s Eve fireworks display at the Cowes Foreshore.
The 36-year-old said an achievement of 2024 was completing her qualification in Floristry.
“That was probably my highlight,” Ms Nodine said.
She said she was looking forward to her husband coming to Australia next year as he has been living in America.
Ian and Sue Drummond were at Flagstaff Gardens with their two young grandkids, having given their son and his wife the “night off”.
Ian said retiring from work was his highlight of 2024.
With Sue having retired a few years previously, the pair said they were looking forward to taking as many trips together as possible in 2025.
Racheal celebrated at Commonwealth Reserve in Williamstown.
“I don’t have any New Year’s resolutions but I am really looking forward to watching my six-month-old daughter Audrey grow up,” she said.
“I’m excited to celebrate her first birthday.”
There were several family friendly “Celebration Zones” set up around the city for the best views of the midnight display and they will all include live music, dance workshops, food truck dining and localised fireworks displays at 9.30pm.
New Year’s Eve Gala
Stage favourites Silvie Paladino, Paulini Curuenavuli, Josh Piterman and John Foreman have all eyes on 2025 and a much-loved Melbourne event to ring in the New Year.
The awesome foursome will co-headline the New Year’s Eve And Day Before Gala at Hamer Hall, backed by the 60-piece Aussie Pops Orchestra, on Monday and Tuesday.
“Everyone feels the pressure of trying to come up with the perfect night on New Year’s Eve,” musical director Foreman said. “We want to help create something fun and spectacular for people.”
The shows will feature songs from musicals Sunset Boulevard, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and powerhouse voices including Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Whitney Houston.
“Melbourne is my home and it’s wonderful to ring in the New Year in this way,” Paladino said. “I feel completely at home on stage at Hamer Hall.”
Piterman added: “It’s a fun event and bangers galore. We perform hit after hit after hit, and we all get to share the things we’re great at. It’s no stress, it’s just fun.”
The gala event is celebrating its 41st year.
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