Fireworks set off at the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge as New Year’s Eve celebrations begin in Sydney
Highlight
- New Zealand’s Auckland has become the first country in the world to welcome the new year 2022.
- Light show and fireworks display on New Year’s Eve in Australia.
- Due to Omicron’s growth, crowds were much smaller than in pre-pandemic years.
New Zealand’s Auckland has become the first country in the world to welcome the New Year 2022 with fireworks. New Zealand was one of the first places to celebrate the New Year, with low-key lighting displays at Auckland landmarks including the Sky Tower and Harbor Bridge. It replaced the traditional fireworks show. Although there is no community spread of omicrons in New Zealand so far, officials want to discourage crowd gathering.
Despite light shows and fireworks displays on New Year’s Eve in Australia on Friday night, cases of coronavirus have increased. The spectacle took place in the backdrop of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House.
Some fireworks were left off in the evening to give a preview of the show to young children. Hours before the ceremony began, Australian health officials reported a record 32,000 new virus cases, many of them in Sydney.
Due to the increase, the crowds were much less than in pre-pandemic years, when the city center swelled to more than a million fun-loving crowds.
(with inputs from Associated Press)
Read also | New Year’s Eve Silence by Omicron; Hope for many better 2022
,