New Year’s Eve without fireworks? How cities are keeping celebrations safe

This year, cities around the world will change how they celebrate the New Year’s Eve countdown to keep their residents safe amid the Covid-19 crisis.

There’ll be no fireworks at the Marina Bay celebration. This is the first time the Marina Bay New Year’s Eve countdown will be without fireworks since the tradition began in 2005.

This year’s celebrations will feature 60 moving beams of light at the bay. The “Shine a Light” show runs nightly in December from 8pm to 10.30pm.

Celebrations elsewhere will feature fireworks at heartland locations across Singapore, like in previous years.

This year, the Australian city’s 9pm fireworks have been cancelled.













There will be a small fireworks display from the Sydney Harbour Bridge at midnight, which will be televised live. Crowd numbers will be strictly controlled around the harbour.

The Australian city claims to be the “New Year’s Eve Capital of the World”. Well, it does deliver yearly extravagant fireworks displays.

The city’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display will be cancelled, said its mayor recently. The authorities are working on “something that people can enjoy in the comfort and safety of their living rooms on TV”.

Last year, the countdown spectacle drew more than 100,000 people to line the banks of the River Thames.

The Times Square New Year's Eve celebration will now be a “virtually enhanced celebration”. It’s the first time in 114 years that a massive crowd will not be at Times Square to count down to the new year.