The world’s 7.8 billion people are saying goodbye to 2020 with a sense of purpose. However, this year’s New Year’s Eve has lacked the festivities and public gatherings of previous years due to the New Coronavirus pandemic.
Most public events in Russia have been canceled at the start of the new year. However, in Kaluga, considered the New Year’s Eve capital of Russia, celebrations for tourists are to continue, while local residents want the events to be canceled. The city is located 150 kilometers southwest of Moscow.
Turkey began a four-day ban on footwear as it welcomed the New Year, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying law enforcement authorities would crack down on illegal hotel parties.
From Brussels to Berlin, festivities were discolored by epidemic restrictions.
France sent an additional 100,000 police officers to the streets to enforce the curfew, and Greece also said it would implement the curfew.
No one will be allowed on the streets after 10 p.m.,” said Greek Public Order Minister Mikalis Chrysochoytis. (Athens) will be a dead city to make sure no more restrictions are imposed.”
The pandemic forced Berlin to cancel its midnight fireworks display over the Brandenburg Gate, and London was forced to cancel its fireworks display over the Thames. Strict pandemic closures have limited Londoners’ Christmas celebrations and shopping.
Dubai kicked off 2021 with its annual fireworks display near the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, but some say rules imposed to slow the epidemic have reduced the fun of the celebration.
Bashar Shehu, 50, came to Dubai from Abuja, Nigeria, with his family. People come to Dubai because it’s open, but there are so many rules,” he told The Associated Press. We pray that next year’s celebration will have some real freedom.”
In India, celebrations to welcome 2021 have been cooled by curfews, bans on beach parties and other travel restrictions. In major cities, hostels and bars closed at 11 p.m. local time, and the Associated Press reported that in Mumbai, where large gatherings are banned, drones monitored people’s movements overhead.
Japan quietly ushered in the new year as case numbers rose.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike asked people not to attend the New Year’s Advent countdown ceremony.
She said, “The new crown virus is not known to have any year-end or New Year holidays.”
New Year’s Eve in South Korea is also different from the past. The government banned gatherings of more than five people. Seoul canceled the traditional bell ringing to welcome the new year for the first time in 1953. Beaches where Koreans gather to watch the sunrise were closed, and some media outlets planned to broadcast the sunrise live instead. Ski resorts and other tourist hot spots were also closed.
In Taiwan, officials held a fireworks display near the landmark Taipei 101 building. A New Year’s Day morning flag-raising ceremony was held in front of the presidential palace, but attendance was limited to government officials and invited guests.
Taiwan is seen as a success story in the fight against the new coronavirus outbreak. According to the Associated Press, only seven deaths were recorded in Taipei, and the total number of cases did not exceed 1,000.
Hong Kong has canceled public celebrations for the second year in a row. Last year’s cancellation was due to public safety concerns. Restaurants closed at 6 p.m. local time and live performances were canceled. Gatherings were limited to two people, but the Associated Press reported that crowds still showed up in shopping areas.
Because of their location on the International Date Line, the small island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati in the central Pacific ushered in 2021 first, followed by the larger Asia-Pacific nations of New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
The New Zealand port city of Auckland hosted a large laser and fireworks welcome show at the landmark Sky Tower. Residents celebrated the island nation’s success in fighting the new coronavirus outbreak. New Zealand has had only 2,162 cases of New Coronavirus infection and 25 deaths.
Around the world, many traditional New Year’s Eve events were scaled back or canceled altogether as government officials struggled to cope with the surge in new coronavirus infections.
In Australia, where in previous years a million people would gather on Sydney Harbour to witness the world-famous fireworks display, this year people will have to watch the fireworks illuminate the famous Sydney Opera House from home. New South Wales’ Premier Gladys Belgiglian announced earlier this week that the public would not be allowed to enter Sydney Harbour due to an outbreak in the suburb of North Beach.
Across the Atlantic, historic Times Square in New York City banned visitors from gathering to watch the traditional last-minute countdown to the “ball drop” before New Year’s Eve. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, government officials canceled the annual New Year’s Eve beach party, an event that typically draws hundreds of thousands of people to live concerts and fireworks.
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