BY SUSANNE BERGSTEN
PRIDE STAFF WRITER
photo courtesy of sydneymedia.com
Most people like New Year’s Celebrations and it is something that is celebrated all over the world. Champagne, fireworks, good food in the company of friends and family seems to be a winning concept wherever you go.
In Paris, wishing people “Bonne année” and exchanging “bisous,” kisses, comes with the New Year celebrations. People flock at the famous street Champs-Élysées with champagne in hand to celebrate and watch fireworks blast off around the Eiffel Tower at the stroke of midnight.
In London, the Brits get their drink on for New Year’s, and people traditionally gather at Trafalgar Square in central London for the countdown to midnight. The ultimate firework show goes off from South Bank next to the big Ferris wheel The London Eye when Big Ben chimes at midnight. Tube rides are free in London on New Years and so going from a house party to South Bank to see the fireworks should not be too much of a problem.
The Italians in Rome traditionally gather at Piazza del Popolo to celebrate New Year’s Eve with live music, dancing and fireworks that starts at 11 p.m. and continues throughout the night.
In Sydney, more than 1.5 million people gather at the Sydney Harbor to welcome the new year. Firework shows start at 9 p.m., but at midnight the whole opera house is lit up by the many fireworks blasting off in the night sky.
A crazier New Year’s Eve party than the one at the Thai island of Koh Phangan is hard to find. 50,000 people from all over the world gather at the Haad Rin beach to dance the night away with buckets of drinks instead of glasses, fire dancers, loud music and lots of fireworks. The crowd is young and people celebrate until the tide comes in and the sun comes up.
The New Year’s Celebration is one of the biggest events in Rio de Janeiro. More than 2 million people gather at Copacabana beach where the festivities start at 8 p.m. with live music. The firework show starts at midnight, and they are fired from boats offshore so all the spectators are safe and can see them light up the sky and the ocean. It is also tradition to wear white clothes and to bring flower to throw into the water at midnight.
Kuala Lumpur, the Muslim capital of Malaysia offers a massive New Year’s Celebration with streets so crowded it is hard to get anywhere. Most restaurants, bars and shops are open and the best festivities are in the many bars that offer live music and activities. The streets and shops are covered in light and at midnight, a large firework show goes off in front of the Petrona Twin Towers.
In Hong Kong both Dec. 31 and the Chinese New Year are two big festivities to be celebrated. The latter is wider celebrated than our New Year, though. People gather in “Times Square,” or the Victoria Harbor, for the countdown. From the Harbor large firework shows can be seen with the many skyscrapers in the background.
South Africa’s Cape Town offers large festivities, though they celebrate New Year on Jan. 1. The locals look forward to the New Year’s celebrations weeks ahead and the celebrations are ushered with ringing church bells and gunshots. Houses, shops and all public places are covered in gorgeous decorations. Tourists and locals flock at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront were the largest festivities in the country take place and people dance the night away with fireworks blasting throughout the night.