Terror threats and fire in Dubai do nothing to dampen spirits of revellers
On a New Year’s Eve haunted by fears of terrorism, a spectacular fire in one of Dubai’s tall towers captured the world’s attention. With few exceptions, the celebrations rolled on, and while fire still raged, the Dubai Media office declared on Twitter: “New Year celebrations in Dubai will continue as scheduled.”
As 2015 drew to a close, many people were bidding a weary and wary adieu to a year marred by attacks that left nations reeling and nerves rattled.
In Bangkok, site of a deadly bombing months ago, police flanked party-goers. In Paris, residents recovering from their city’s own deadly attacks enjoyed scaled-back celebrations. And in Munich, police warned of the threat of a terror attack.
A look at how people around the welcomed the new year:
France
The French are still recovering from the 13 November attacks that left 130 people dead in Paris, and authorities prepared for a possible worst-case scenario on New Year’s Eve. About 60,000 police officers and troops were deployed across the country, and revelers said that made them feel safer.
French President Francois Hollande used his traditional New Year’s Eve speech to warn that the terrorist threat is still at its “highest level.”
“2015 has been a year of suffering and resistance,” he said. “Let’s make 2016 a year of courage and hope.”
Paris cancelled its usual fireworks display in favour of a five-minute video performance at the Arc de Triomphe just before midnight, relayed on screens along the Champs Elysee, where people chanted.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the show was aimed at “sending the world the message that Paris is standing, proud of its lifestyle and living together.”
Thailand
Less than six months after a pipe bomb killed 20 people at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, tens of thousands of people rang in the new year at the intersection with live music and a countdown.
Up to 5,000 police officers were in the area, with explosive ordnance disposal experts sweeping the area ahead of time.
Malaysia
Security was beefed up in Malaysia’s biggest city, Kuala Lumpur, where fireworks greeted the new year at a historic square and at the Petronas Twin Towers, one of the world’s tallest buildings.
Philippines
Concern in the Philippines on New Year’s Eve focused on the use of illegal fireworks, which last year injured more than 850 people. Shopping malls and cities organised fireworks displays to discourage people from lighting their own firecrackers.
An annual procession of the Black Nazarene, a black wooden statue of Jesus Christ, was held a day earlier than usual Thursday to prevent injuries from mounds of trash and unexploded firecrackers that litter Manila’s streets after New Year’s revelries.
Japan
New Year’s Eve is Japan’s biggest holiday, and millions of people crammed into trains to flee the cities for their hometowns to slurp down bowls of noodles, symbolising longevity, while watching the annual “Red and White” song competition on television. As midnight approached, families bundled up for visits to neighbourhood temples, where the ritual ringing of huge bronze bells reverberated through the chill.
Tokyo was on special alert for security issues, with posters in subways and other public spaces warning people to keep their eyes open for suspicious packages or activities.
Korea
South Koreans marked New Year’s Eve with traditional bell ringing ceremonies, fireworks and outdoor music and dance performances. One celebration was organised at a town near the border with rival North Korea to watch one of the ceremonies and wish for peaceful Korean unification.
Vatican City
In the final hours of 2015, Pope Francis encouraged humanity to hang on to recollections of good deeds so that gestures of goodness can be seen triumphing over evil.
Francis presided over a year’s end prayer service Thursday evening in St Peter’s Basilica, where he mused about how people are sometimes driven by “insatiable thirst for power and by gratuitous violence.” He said it was impossible to forget “so many days marked by violence, by death, by the unspeakable suffering of so many innocents.”
New Zealand
New Zealand, the first nation with a sizable population to celebrate the New Year, counted down the seconds to midnight with a giant digital clock on Auckland’s landmark Sky Tower. Horns blared and crowds cheered as the tower was lit up with fireworks, with colours shifting from green to red to white.
Australia
Simultaneous fireworks displays erupted along Sydney’s
famed harbor, where people crowded onto balconies, into waterside parks and onto boats as they jockeyed for the best view, clinking glasses and whooping with joy as the first pyrotechnics exploded.
More than a million people had been expected to watch the glittery display, featuring a multicolored fireworks waterfall cascading off the Sydney Harbour Bridge and effects in the shapes of butterflies, octopuses and flowers.
China
An official New Year’s Eve celebration was staged near Beijing’s Forbidden City with performances and fireworks, and one of China’s most popular TV stations broadcast a gala from the National Stadium, known to most as the iconic Bird’s Nest.
For safety reasons, Shanghai closed subway stations near the scenic waterfront Bund, mindful of a stampede last New Year’s Eve that killed 36 people and blemished the image of China’s most prosperous metropolis.
Gaza Strip
Gaza’s Islamist Hamas rulers banned New Year celebrations in the Palestinian coastal enclave. Police spokesman Ayman Batniji said hotels and restaurants were allowed to hold parties a day earlier or a day later. “Celebrating the new year contradicts the instructions of Islamic religion,” Batniji said. “It’s a Western custom that we don’t accept in Gaza.”
Egypt
In Cairo, people put aside fears of the growing number of militant attacks throughout the country to celebrate the new year. Engineering graduate Mohamed Youssef, whose military service begins in a few months, attended a house party.
“It doesn’t matter if they deploy me to Sinai or throw me in the western desert,” he said. “I don’t care if I lose a leg or my life. Tonight, we drink and dance!”
At the Giza Pyramids, hundreds of people gathered for a fireworks and lighting display at the stroke of midnight.
Kenya
Police in Kenya, which has been repeatedly attacked by al-Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia, urged vigilance as many people prepared to celebrate the new year in hotels and watch midnight fireworks displays. Unauthorised fireworks were banned as safety hazards “in view of the elevated threat of terrorism,” police said.
Germany
Rainy weather dampened the New Year celebrations in Berlin, where security was tighter than in previous years. Several hundred thousand people still turned out for several minutes of fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate, wishing each other “Froehes neues Jahr” and expressing their hopes for a peaceful 2016.
In Munich, police warned about an hour before the New Year of a “serious, imminent threat” of a terror attack. Despite the call by police for people to stay away from crowds, thousands of people were still on the streets to meet the new year with fireworks.
Britain
Major celebrations marked by fireworks spectaculars were planned in London, Edinburgh and other big cities despite a terror threat judged to be severe. Police advised revelers not to go to the fireworks displays without tickets and to be ready to
have their belongings searched.
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro kicked off its Olympic year with a fiesta on Copacabana Beach attended by more than two million people, according to police estimates. Brazil’s most popular New Year’s Eve show was illuminated by 24 tons of fireworks fired off over almost 16 minutes. To celebrate Rio’s hosting of the 2016 Summer Games in August, the soundtrack for revelers included music from previous Olympics and songs paying homage to samba on its 100th anniversary.
Rio authorities said they weren’t as worried about terrorism as other cities. Police used two monitoring trucks to follow suspicious movements during the party. That equipment also will be used in security operations during the Olympics.
New York
Around one million people converged on Times Square for the annual New Year’s Eve celebration. An 11,875-pound Waterford crystal ball descended as revelers counted down to 2016 before sharing hugs and their first kisses of the year under a blanket of confetti.
The glitzy party included musical acts including Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas and Carrie Underwood.
This year’s festivities were attended by nearly 6,000 police officers, including members of a specialised counterterrorism unit.
Las Vegas
Sprays of gold glittery fireworks lit up the already well-lit Las Vegas at midnight. An eight-minute fireworks show shot from seven casino rooftops erupted on time for 2016.
The Las Vegas Strip filled up with the estimated 332,000 people expected to attend New Year’s celebrations on the boulevard and along downtown’s Freemont Street.