A move to dampen New Year’s Eve firework displays in Adelaide was voted down at Town Hall overnight, with the main event to be thinned out and spread across the CBD in a series of street parties.
Key points:
- Adelaide’s New Year’s Eve firework displays will go ahead but in a different format
- Some councillors have been wanting to replace the fireworks with a light show since 2019
- A hybrid fireworks and light display will be trialled after it was cancelled last year due to COVID-19
Instead of a main “extravaganza” that typically draws tens of thousands of people to one location, Adelaide City Council wants to decentralise it and “activate” other parts of the city.
Adelaide City Councillor Alexander Hyde said a number of councillors were “uncomfortable with removing the midnight fireworks”.
“So we reaffirmed our commitment to holding them in some form, but what that form will be in the end is not entirely clear,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
He said the 9:30pm family show was likely to be a hybrid fireworks and light trial, and the midnight fireworks would still go ahead, but it would not be “one big event” due to COVID-19 concerns.
He said the council would work through its options under COVID-19 restrictions with SA Health and SA Police.
Submitted: Dino Proctor
)Fireworks under attack
The city’s highly popular annual fireworks display has been under attack by some councillors since 2019 when it was considered insensitive due to the bushfire crisis gripping the country at the time.
In a somewhat auspicious moment for those opposed to fireworks, reeds adjacent Torrens Lake caught alight during that display.
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The council subsequently voted to incorporate lights, laser and drones into 2020’s event, but it was eventually cancelled anyway due to COVID-19 concerns.
Mr Hyde, who earlier last year wanted to investigate replacing fireworks with a state-of-the-art light show, now said he felt “sentimental” about midnight fireworks because a lot of people, including himself, liked to see off the new year with a “little bit of a bang”.
“I think there are a lot of people in that boat and that’s why I think it’s important for us to keep doing that,” he said.
‘Silly old fashioned things’
But maintaining their long-standing opposition were councillors Phillip Martin and Anne Moran, who believed fireworks were “getting a bit old hat”.
Ms Moran has also argued against fireworks on Australia Day, reportedly claiming the loud bangs could upset immigrants from war-torn countries.
She added that if the council was going to spend money on fireworks on NYE, it should focus its money on one event rather than “spread ourselves so thin”.
“Let’s make the children’s event at 9:30pm really spectacular because after all, fireworks are really for children,” Ms Moran said.
Reuters: Jason Reed
)Fireworks a winner worldwide
But fireworks remain a hugely popular event for people of all ages, with Adelaide suburbs such as Brighton and Glenelg also holding NYE displays that draw upwards of 60,000 people, and big cities like Sydney and Paris consistently making international headlines with their famous shows.
Only five years ago, Adelaide City Council decided to boost its fireworks budget due to their popularity.
Mr Hyde said the council had set aside $370,000 to put on its NYE celebrations this year, with about $40,000 to be spent on fireworks, and $30,000 budgeted to the light component after the trial was cancelled last year.
“So there’s definitely money to put on a good show,” he said.
