Sydney's spectacular plans

2008-12-31 11:10

Sydney - Record crowds of 1.5 million were expected to kick off global New Year celebration on Wednesday with a fireworks extravaganza over Sydney's iconic harbour and Opera House.

Never-before-seen lightning, thunder and rain effects were to top the multimillion dollar pyrotechnics show, which traditionally centres on the city's world-famous Harbour Bridge.

"It's probably 30% bigger on the bridge alone than what it's been in previous years," said fireworks director Fortunato Foti. "Personally, I don't think you can have too many fireworks. The more the better."

Sydney is the first major city in the world to see in the New Year, with a record 1.5 million people expected to ring in midnight on the waterfront at 13:00 GMT.

Organisers promised the largest display yet, with 5 000kg of shells, comets and individual effects to dazzle spectators on what was forecast to be a perfect summer's evening.

With almost double the bang of last year, the show will cost an estimated $5m.

Thousands of the city's four million residents were queuing for harbour-side spots about 12 hours before the main event, as plain-clothes and uniformed police flooded the central business district.

More than two thousand officers were expected to be on duty, with police warning against alcohol abuse and loutish behaviour in a nation famed for its drinking culture.

"New Year's Eve is for everybody, and our role in policing an event like this is to ensure that it's not hijacked by the drunken yobbos (louts)," said Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.

For the first time the revelry will be carbon-neutral, with Sydney's mayor promising to audit and offset emissions from the event.

Australians in the southern city of Melbourne will mark midnight with fireworks over the Yarra River.

The nation's largest single New Year event will be held at the city's Telstra Dome stadium, where up to 40 000 people are expected to dance their way into 2009.

- AFP