London reaches out
Capital makes new year unity plea to Europe
LONDON: Europe has welcomed 2019 with a series of firework displays, including one in London that was dedicated to the EU citizens living in the British capital.
The words ‘‘London is open’’ were spoken in seven languages as the fireworks at the London Eye ferris wheel went off, while the soundtrack included the songs We Are Your Friends, Stay and Don’t Leave Me Alone.
‘‘By paying tribute to our close relationship with Europe as we welcome in the New Year tonight, we will once again show the world that London will always be open,’’ Mayor Sadiq Khan said.
The London mayor has been vocal about how Britain’s planned departure from the European Union on March 29 will affect his city.
Fireworks also lit up the skies over the Brandenburg Gate in Germany and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where the names of this year’s victorious football World Cup team were projected on to the landmark.
Sweden greeted the new year with its annual tradition of a reading of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem Ring Out Wild Bells, read this year by actor Mikael Persbrandt.
In Moscow the bells in the Kremlin’s Spasskaya Tower rang out.
In Athens, where fireworks went off above the Acropolis despite pouring rain, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras promised that ‘‘2019 will be a year of rebirth for our country’’.
The country, which has struggled with a financial crisis for the best part of a decade, officially exited its bailout programme in August.
The European celebrations came hours after Asia and the Pacific celebrated the arrival of the new year.
The Pacific island nation of Samoa was the first after moving its time zone forward by 24 hours in 2011.
New Zealand and Australia followed with Sydney holding a spectacular harbour fireworks display attended by more than one million revellers.
In Japan, bells at Buddhist temples chimed 108 times to mark the new year — a tradition that recalls the number of earthly desires a person must overcome to attain nirvana.
Los Angeles and Honolulu rounded out US celebrations. Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro were top party locations in Latin America.
A The US Strategic Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear arsenal, yesterday apologised for a Twitter message saying it was ready if necessary to drop something ‘‘much, much bigger’’ than the New Year’s Eve ball in New York and showing a clip of an aircraft releasing bombs.
‘‘#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball...if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger,’’ the tweet said, hours before the midnight descent of the illuminated ball in New York’s Times Square marked the new year.
The message touched off many critical comments on social media.
Later yesterday, the message was deleted from the United States Strategic Command’s Twitter feed. A new message said: ‘‘Our previous NYE tweet was in poor taste & does not reflect our values. We apologize. We are dedicated to the security of America & allies.’’ — DPA/ Reuters