November 16, 2020
1 min read

Melbourne cancels iconic New Year fireworks

The annual New Year Eve fireworks show in Melbourne has been cancelled and replaced with a two-day street food festival this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the City Council said on Monday.

The change has been made to avoid large-scale outdoor gathering as the fireworks show usually attracts about 400,000 people to the second largest Australian city which could become a public health threat during a pandemic, Xinhua news agency quoted the Council as saying in a statement.

Instead, dining precincts will be set up across the city of Melbourne, encouraging people to enjoy their New Year celebrations at more than 50 venues, some are located at the most popular eat streets such as Flinders Lane and Little Bourke Street.

The Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp said the New Year Street Feasts will support local hospitality businesses that had been hit hard during the pandemic lockdown.

Melbourne

“This has been an incredibly tough year and we want to mark its end by celebrating and supporting Melbourne’s wonderful cafes, bars and restaurants,” Capp said.

“We are tailoring a program to safely encourage more patrons into our incredible and deserving hospitality businesses that have struggled through lockdown restrictions.”

The cancellation came after Melbourne ended its Covid-19 lockdown which lasted for almost four months.

As of Monday, the Australian state of Victoria, where Melbourne is the capital, recorded its 17th consecutive day without any new case or virus-related deaths.

In a similar move last week, New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian had announced that Sydney’s New Year’s Eve firework display will be scaled down by several minutes and spectators will be banned from harbour-side vantage points in the wake of the pandemic.

Due to its time zone, Sydney usually hosts the first major New Year’s Eve celebrations of the globe, centering on the Harbour Bridge and Opera House, in a display which attracts thousands of people to the harbour and surrounding area.

Also Read: Australian vaccine ready for clinical trials

Previous Story

Turkey to join Karabakh ‘peacekeeping center’

Next Story

Libya talks fail to name interim government

Latest from Australia News

Fourth AUSTRAHIND exercise begins in Australia

Primary focus of this year’s exercise is “joint company level counter-terrorism operations in urban terrain and semi urban terrain…reports Asian Lite News The fourth edition of the India-Australia joint military exercise, AUSTRAHIND,

US, Australia boost mineral ties to counter China

The Australian Prime Minister lauded the minerals agreement, saying it will take the bilateral relationship to the “next level”….reports Asian Lite News The United States and Australia have signed a critical minerals

India, Australia Begin AUSTRAHIND

The AUSTRAHIND exercise, which followed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s recent visit to Australia, reaffirmed the deepening defence cooperation between the two nations…reports Asian Lite News Strengthening the expanding defence partnership between India

AUSTRAHIND 2025 Begins

AUSTRAHIND 2025 is aimed at enhancing military cooperation, improving interoperability and providing a platform for participating armies to exchange tactics…reports Asian Lite News In a major step forward for India-Australia defence ties,
Go toTop