Global General
New Year's parties light up world
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-01 10:05
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SYDNEY: Revelers across the globe rang in the New Year with fireworks and festivities under tight security after a narrowly-averted Christmas Day airline bomb plot in the United States.
Partygoers from Tuvalu to Tijuana raised a glass to bid farewell to 2009 and usher in a new decade, closing the door on 10 years scarred by wars, terror attacks, natural disasters and financial turmoil.
 Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour last night to usher in New Year's Day. [Agencies] |
In Sydney, the world's first major city to see in the New Year, around 1.5 million people crowded the harbor foreshore for a high-tech fireworks display on the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.
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As the clock ticked past midnight in Sydney, about 4,500 kg of fireworks blasted into the night sky, including one of a giant lollipop and another of the stars of the Southern Cross constellation.
As thousands of people began gathering for the celebrations, police minister Michael Daley urged revelers to keep a lid on their drinking.
"Whether you're drink-driving, riding a push bike while you're drunk, behaving like an idiot on one of our buses or trains, or underage drinking, police will be there to make sure they catch you," he said.
In New Zealand, dance parties, bands and fireworks were planned in the main cities, and live entertainment in many holiday spots, including the southern tourist spot of Queenstown. In the capital, Wellington, celebrations included a display by world unicycle games competitors.
Paris' Eiffel Tower was transformed into a multi-colored light show while in Berlin, more than 1 million revelers were on the boulevard leading to the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity.
Celebrations in Britain centered on the London Eye, the giant wheel across the river Thames from the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, as the world's most famous clock heralded the start of the New Year.
A downpour of confetti marked the moment at New York's traditional mass celebration in Times Square in the heart of Manhattan.
Heavy security was expected in most cities after a failed Christmas Day bombing of a US passenger jet claimed by Al-Qaida rekindled fears of further attacks.
As huge crowds watched the traditional crystal ball marking the final countdown to 2010, undercover police, surveillance cameras, uniformed teams and radiation and biological detection equipment monitored them.
No backpacks or alcohol were allowed in Times Square.
"It will be a full fledged deployment of resources," city police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. "We assume here that New York is the No 1 terrorist target in America."
In Asia, around half a million revelers crowded Hong Kong's harbor front to watch 9,000 fireworks set off from the tops of 10 city skyscrapers in a formation resembling a dragon.
High-glitz parties were planned in Singapore and thousands were expected to gather at Indonesia's national monument in the capital, Jakarta, for a fireworks show.
Millions of Japanese will welcome the New Year by flocking to shrines to pray for good fortune in 2010.
In Tokyo, the Sensoji temple was draped with banners greeting the new year in preparation for traditional ceremonies when thousands of people come to pray for good fortune. Shoppers mobbed a city, stocking up on seafood and other items.
But in Thailand, police banned fireworks and pyrotechnic displays after a New Year's Eve blaze at a Bangkok nightclub a year ago killed 65 revelers.
The Indian resort state of Goa saw a massive influx of domestic and foreign tourists after a ban on its famed beach parties imposed after last year's militant attacks on Mumbai was lifted.
AFP - AP
