SYDNEY has kicked off Australia’s New Year’s Eve celebrations with a spectacular early firework display for families.
The sky was overcast but rain earlier in the day was gone by nightfall, leaving a clear view of the pyrotechnics for the hundreds of thousands of Sydneysiders and visitors crowded around the harbour.
“They were absolutely amazing, I didn’t know which way to look, I wish I had 360 degree vision,” said 24-year-old Heather Morgan, from Wales.
Revellers in Melbourne were sweltering as they enjoyed their 9.15pm (AEDT) fireworks, but those waiting for the midnight display could be in for too much of a cool change.
A weather system moving up from the southwest was threatening to bring thunderstorms around 11.30pm (AEDT).
Despite warnings earlier this week that the fireworks on the Yarra River banks would be cancelled if there was lightning, Acting Victorian Premier Rob Hulls said he expected them to go ahead.
Pyrotechnician Andrew Howard said lightning wouldn’t affect the display, but could pose a safety risk for the operators.
In Brisbane, cool damp conditions have made life easy for police officers patrolling party districts, after heavy downpours during the day.
More showers are forecast, but fireworks organisers say nothing short of a cyclone will stop the displays at 8.30pm (AEST) and midnight (AEST).
In a first for the city, laser lights will be beamed from office buildings as part of the show.
In Hobart, a total fire ban declared for Thursday was lifted at 9pm (AEDT) to allow fireworks displays to go ahead.
But Tasmanian Fire Service Chief Officer Mike Brown warned people to take extreme care with fireworks and refrain from lighting bonfires in the hot, dry conditions.
Revellers in Sydney were encouraged to wear blue, in keeping with the promised blue theme of the fireworks.
But most people have failed to heed the call, or failed even to hear it.
“Are we supposed to be wearing blue?” said Andy Larssen, 53, who actually was wearing a blue shirt.
“I came straight from work in the shirt I’m wearing,” he said.
Annie Fitzgerald, 55, did get into the spirit.
“I have no blue clothes, so I bought blue scarves for me and my friends,” she said.
Not much blue was to be seen in the 9pm (AEDT) fireworks, with the technically difficult colour perhaps reserved for the main show at midnight.
At Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, white was the dress code for 30,000 guests at Australia’s largest New Year’s Eve party.
