New Year: how countries are welcoming 2021 | Fires …

Various countries of the world they have already said goodbye to the chaotic year of the pandemic and they celebrated the arrival of 2021 in the hope that massive vaccination campaigns will eventually provide some comfort. The first to leave in 2020 were the inhabitants of Kiribati and Samoa, island nations located in the South Pacific.

The tropical archipelagos of Kiribati and Samoa, with a combined population of just over 300,000, greeted the New Year at 10:00 GMT and therefore entered on January 1, 2021.

Next to the New Year, the inhabitants of the New Zealand island of Chatham, located about 680 kilometers southeast of the main islands of this country.

Then the rest of the inhabitants of New Zealand, recognized around the world as one of the best countries to manage the pandemic, and the population Fiji and Tonga. The New Zealand city of Auckland welcomed 2021 with its traditional fireworks display.

In Australia the fireworks shows in the Sydney sky, one of the shows that traditionally opens the planet’s holidays to welcome the New Year. This time however He did not have massive public presence due to the restrictions imposed by covid-19.

Also received in 2021 the inhabitants of Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, some with fireworks and others with the cancellation of crowds typical of that date. In the case of Tokyo, Japan, hundreds of people gathered at Kanda Myojin Shrine.

Even if Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam They receive their New Year on different dates, they also celebrate New Years Eve according to the Gregorian calendar, especially in big cities.

How other countries are preparing

In most countries, growing coronavirus cases have led authorities to tighten restrictions to prevent the pandemic – which has already infected more than 80 million people and killed more than 1,770,000. – aggravated by the movements of people who usually bring the holidays.

United Kingdom

The country will spend the last night of the year under severe social restrictions to avoid contagion, at a time when a new variant of the coronavirus is spreading to different regions. To avoid the crowds, the fireworks display that lights up central London and the waters of the Thames each year-end has been canceled.

The London City Council recommendation for citizens is to follow the end-of-year special which will be broadcast by the BBC public channel, or one of the virtual performances offered by London theaters, from home. The Royal Opera House, The Royal Ballet and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater will provide access to free content.

France

France has also canceled the traditional fireworks display above the Eiffel Tower, which attracts tens of thousands of people each year to the Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Instead, they summoned two big concerts on social networks and on television: one with the “DJ “Jean-Michel Jarre in a virtual setting of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and another in the Louvre Pyramid with the musician David Guetta.

As, meetings in public spaces are prohibited and the curfew requires the French to be at home between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., so with a limit of six adults per household, those who wish to meet will have to spend the night together.

To prevent underground parties, ordered an operation 100,000 police and gendarmes.

Italy

In Italy, on December 31, the whole country enters Red zone, after three days of easing of measures. Travel between regions and municipalities will be prohibited, except for reasons of work, health or proven necessity. Family or friends can be visited with a maximum limit of two-person meetings. There will be a curfew that will start at 10 p.m. and last until 7 a.m. on January 1.

Cities like Rome, Milan, Turin and Genoa will offer programs with actors, musicians, comedians and athletes who can be followed on social networks.

Milan will project on the facade of the Duomo an installation by the artist Felice Limosani, which consists of a compilation of thoughts of citizens collected on the Internet. Naples canceled its traditional Castel dell’Ovo fireworks display, but offered its citizens to light a candle or a small lamp behind the windows.

Germany

The central government and the federal states of Germany they decided to ban fireworks to avoid concentrations.

In addition, a ban on gatherings in public places was decreed for December 31 and January 1. Public performances, such as those held at the Brandenburg Gate, have been canceled.

Portugal

The imposed curfew Portugal Due to the pandemic, which forces everyone to stay home after 11 p.m., all New Year’s holidays, known as ‘Passagem de Ano’, where music and fireworks stand out, have been deleted.

The epicenter of the festivities, Praça do Comércio de Lisboa, will be deserted this year and The traditional concert which, before the pandemic, brought together thousands of people has been canceled.

One of the most unique end-of-year celebrations took place in Porto, on Avenida de los Aliados, usually attended by the main figures of Portuguese music, where fireworks could be observed during more than a quarter of an hour and where you could even take the twelve grapes on a boat in the Duero.

Other countries

In Denmark, Copenhagen Town Hall Square, where thousands of people gather every year, will be closed for the first time and guarded by police. Oslo and Stockholm have suspended the usual fireworks, as have many municipalities.

New Years at Croatia It will be marked not only by measures to prevent coronavirus infections, with the highest incidence of deaths across the EU, but also by the effects of the strong earthquake that rocked the center of the country on Tuesday, with 7 dead and 26 injured. In the country, the travel ban introduced on December 23 has been suspended to facilitate the evacuation of people from the affected region and the delivery of aid.

In Prague, Czech republicThere will be a curfew from 9 p.m. Usually, Czechs say goodbye to the year with a glass of champagne in their hand and admire the fireworks, which abound on New Years and New Years. But this time, posters around town announce that pyrotechnics will not be allowed and that there will be twice as many police officers to ensure order in streets that should be deserted.

Istanbul, turkey, will not celebrate New Year’s Eve this year: a curfew applies from 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 31 until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 4. The population will have to give up the usual street party in central Taksim Square, an event which in recent years has already gained a bad reputation for alcohol abuse and harassment.

In AustriaNew Years Eve takes place amid the severe third lockdown, with a 24-hour curfew and no exceptions to greet the New Year. All parties were also banned. Anyone who goes out on the street can be questioned by the police and must show that they have good reason for leaving their home, while only one person from another address can visit a family.

In Russia, Red Square will be closed to the general public, so Muscovites will not be able to walk to the cobblestones in front of the Kremlin to see how the clock in the Spáskaya Tower strikes. All Christmas concerts in the square and in the Kremlin have also been canceled, and restaurants will close at 11 p.m., so the end-of-year dinner will take place in the houses.

This year they will not be developed in the NetherlandsAt least with an audience, the fireworks and musical events organized by the municipalities every December 31, and even the Nieuwjaarsduikel, the traditional New Year’s bath on the beach in Scheveningen, has been canceled. New Years Eve will be one of the celebrations ‘at home’, with the entire hospitality industry closed, including cocktail bars, nightclubs and dance halls, with a maximum of three guests per household. at dinner and at home party.

In Belgium, half of the country (Wallonia and Brussels) will have a curfew from 10 p.m. and the other half (Flanders) from midnight. In addition, traditional fireworks will be banned across the country. The rules for home meetings are also maintained: each cohabiting unit can only invite one person outside its bubble, with the sole exception of people living alone, who are authorized to host two.

In Greece, the population will spend the last night of the year in strict confinement. The curfew will continue to apply from ten in the evening to five in the morning. As at Christmas, the celebrations at home cannot exceed nine people, members of a maximum of two families, something unusual in this country, where one of the customs of the New Year’s Eve is to get together with friends to enter year round playing games. letters and enjoy together at midnight the traditional roscón de San Basilio.