New Year’s Eve 2017: What’s on in our capital cities
Vantage points are full with security increased around the country as fireworks displays begin across Australia | WATCH LIVE
SYDNEY
Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations are officially underway with a family-friendly 9pm fireworks display lighting up the harbour.
The eight-minute display thrilled the early crowds and added to the mounting excitement about the main event.
All vantage points around the Harbour are full and Sydney’s CBD is awash with revellers waiting to ring in the new year with the city’s world-famous New Year’s Eve fireworks.
An expected one million people will gather in the CBD to watch the fireworks while another billion will tune in on television.
Revellers are being urged to catch public transport with some inner-city roads to be closed by 7pm and all roads north of Goulburn Street in CBD to be closed after 11pm.
Circular Quay Station closed to passengers at 5pm with revellers told to alight at Wynyard, St James or Martin Place and walk to the harbour foreshore. Lord Mayor Cloover Moore says the City of Sydney has worked closely with NSW Police to make sure the $7 million show is a success.
“There are extra (security) measures tonight, but there’s no particular concern, they’re just measures that are being taken because of the sorts of things (terrorism) that have been happening around the world,” Ms Moore told reporters. “We have always had a really fabulous, very safe event, and that’s what we’re counting on doing again tonight.” NSW Police will use vehicles to block off roads “where appropriate” in an attempt to ensure no-one can use a truck to attack partygoers. There’ll also be concrete and water-filled bollards strategically located across the city.
A high-visibility police operation swept Circular Quay on Sunday morning with officers using mirrors to look for threats.
Almost 45 per cent of those watching around the harbour are international tourists. Guides are written in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish and German. “No city, including Melbourne, can compare with Sydney,” Ms Moore said on Sunday.
“No other city has the bridge, the harbour, the Opera House and the climate.” There’ll be eight tonnes of fireworks producing 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects.
For the first time, there’ll be a countdown to midnight, with fireworks forming the numerals 10 to one on the Harbour Bridge. The word “Sydney” will then be spread across the arch.
Asked if he was confident of getting the timing spot on, fireworks director Fortunato Foti said: “Well it will either work or it won’t.” “But we’re pretty confident,” he added.
During the display, there’ll be a rainbow waterfall off the bridge to celebrate the gay marriage vote and the upcoming 40th anniversary of Mardi Gras Actor Hugh Jackman has designed a brief section of the fireworks which will appear eight minutes into the midnight display.
Sydney’s most popular New Year’s Eve vantage points began filling early on Sunday morning.
French siblings Laura Hetuin, 20, and her brother Antoine, 16, snared a prime spot at Campbells Cove with views of the bridge and Opera House by arriving at 7am.
They packed sandwiches, water, suncream, card games and good spirits to get them through the 17-hour wait.
“We are really happy we are here (on the top step),” Laura told AAP. “We came so early because it’s Sunday and people aren’t working so we thought maybe it would be even more crowded.” Most roads in Sydney’s CBD will remain shut until 4am.
MELBOURNE
With more than half a million revellers set to see in the New Year in Melbourne’s CBD, police are urging crowds to “play it cool”. The city centre will be in lockdown for the celebrations, with extra bollards and additional police used to try and keep people safe from a potential attack. “Whether that’s on the roads, the footpaths, the pubs and clubs, just play it cool,” Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer told reporters on Saturday.
“Give everything some time, be considerate of each other and just show respect for each other.” Mr Fryer also warned partygoers planning to drink or take drugs against “running the gauntlet” and then getting behind the wheel.
“You get caught, you do your licence. You do your licence, you may have problems keeping your job. Is it really worth running that gauntlet? We say not, it’s not worth risking your life or someone else’s,” he said.
More than $2.6 million is being spent on New Year’s Eve celebrations, which includes 14 tonnes of fireworks.
An extra 100 train services will be run to get more than 100,000 people in and out of the city.
Some streets in the CBD and Docklands will be closed to vehicles amid heightened security concerns after a Werribee man was charged in November with allegedly plotting a New Year’s Eve terror attack, and following two car attacks at Bourke and Flinders streets.
But authorities say they have no information to suggest there are further planned attacks.
BRISBANE
Brisbane’s New Year’s Eve fireworks look set to go ahead as planned, but severe thunderstorms could wreak havoc on areas north of the city during the final hours of 2017.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services have issued an emergency alert for people attending the Woodford Folk Festival.
“Festival goers are advised to secure their camp and seek shelter in the venue’s amenity blocks,” it said in a statement on Sunday afternoon. Very large hailstones, heavy rainfall, flash flooding and destructive winds are expected to hit the region before it moves towards the Sunshine Coast. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Adam Blazak said Brisbane appeared to have dodged the worst of the weather, with just light rain expected until about 7pm. “There is still the chance of seeing one isolated, rogue thunderstorm pop up somewhere in the southeast this evening,” he told AAP on Sunday. “It looks like we’ve seen the worst of it and I don’t think we’ll have any problem with fireworks at this stage.” But revellers in Ipswich haven’t been as lucky, with the council posting on social media that organisers had been forced to cancel its New Year’s Eve celebrations because of the weather.
“Storms dumped enough rain to make it unsafe to complete set-up,” it wrote on Sunday afternoon.
“Safety concerns for the public have also been taken into consideration.” Hailstones up to 4cm in size were recorded in numerous areas including Warwick, Gatton and Grantham.
There was 71mm of rain recorded in one hour at Camp Hill Rd, about 50km southwest of Laidley.
Energex crews are working to restore power to about 10,000 homes and businesses across southern Queensland, with the Scenic Rim and Sunshine Coast most affected.
Police have urged New Year’s Eve revellers across the state to be mindful of the weather and look after their mates as they ring in the new year. NYE Commander Superintendent Tony Fleming said overt and covert police would be on patrol to ensure celebrations went to plan.
He said road closures had already come into effect in Brisbane, with barriers also put up to “mitigate any threats we might have in regards to vehicles”. “Whilst the national threat level is at probable, we have no specific threat for NYE activities in Queensland,” he said.
ADELAIDE
Adelaide’s burgeoning live music scene will feature in the city’s main New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The live music program at Elder Park will demonstrate the council’s commitment to local musicians, Lord Mayor Martin Haese says.
“Adelaide has been globally recognised for its local music scene,” he said. “And we’ll be celebrating some of our finest homegrown talent on New Year’s Eve with South Australian acts that range from electronic, blues and soul, indie pop, and world music sounds.
“Bringing in the New Year at Elder Park has become a tradition for many friends and families.” But to keep the crowds in check, two areas in Adelaide will be Declared Public Precincts as police mount a major operation to crack down on anti-social behaviour.
The declarations for Sunday night and Monday morning cover parts of the CBD and seaside Glenelg and give police wider search and crowd control powers. Fireworks will delight revellers at both locations with displays at 9pm and midnight.
Fireworks will also feature at 20 events across the state, from Whyalla on Eyre Peninsula to Renmark in the Riverland.
Health Minister Peter Malinauskas has urged revellers to go easy on the alcohol to keep the pressure off ambulance and hospital services.
Police say they will have little tolerance for any bad behaviour.
PERTH
There’ll be no shortage of waterfront vantage when the clock ticks over to 2018 in WA, with fireworks planned for along the Swan River in Perth, Rottnest Island, Mandurah and the banks of the Cannington River, with most places putting on a family-friendly 9pm show.
Revellers are in for a balmy night, with cloudy skies forecast for the main event but no expectation of rain. After a top of 34 today, the mercury will dip to the mid to low 20s by midnight.
Australian Idol runner up Shannon Noll will headline free celebrations at the Rockingham Foreshore from 5pm, while a host of 30 local and international acts — including DJ Snake and Kaytranada — will play to crowds at the Origin NYE 2017 music festival at the Claremont Showgrounds, billed as Perth’s biggest party.
For something a little more exclusive, Crown Towers in Perth is hosting its first ever New Year’s Eve party, while at Northbridge Piazza, free family-friendly entertainment begins from 4.30pm.
It won’t be smooth sailing everywhere tonight though. Further north, heavy rain and possible flash floods are forecast in parts of WA from ex-tropical cyclone Hilda.
Parts of the Midwest-Gascoyne and Goldfields-Midlands are warned severe weather is on the way while people in the South Interior district are urged to take action and stay safe, with severe weather to come.
Ex-tropical cyclone Hilda is now south southeast of Parnngurr and will slowly track southeast through South Interior on Sunday morning. Heavy rain that may cause flash flooding is possible over the warning area for the rest of Sunday morning before easing in the afternoon, BoM warns.
HOBART
Tens of thousands of revellers are expected to ring in 2018 from the Hobart waterfront tonight, where a $70,000 fireworks program will dazzle crowds, the Hobart Mercury reports.
The fuse on a twilight display will be lit at 9.30pm.
Like other capitals, local police have planned high-visibility patrols.
“We want people to have a good time, but reinforce to everyone not to overindulge and let their behaviour ruin the night for anyone else,” Inspector Jo Stolp told the newspaper.
“Look out for your mates and always have a plan to get home safely.”
DARWIN
Partygoers in the top end may be treated to a bonus sky show, with the chance of a storm in addition to the New Year’s Eve fireworks tonight.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast hot and sticky conditions, with a top of 34 degrees.
Darwin Waterfront will again play host to the biggest fireworks show in town, beginning at 9pm for the kids before the midnight finale.
The event has been declared booze-free, but there’ll be plenty of licensed venues open to enjoy a tipple, the NT News reports.
Free buses are also being run in and around the city from 7pm to 7am.
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