- Cities worldwide are canceling New Year's events due to safety and crowd concerns.
- The cancellations come as the FBI busted an alleged New Year's Eve bombing plot.
- Paris canceled its famous New Year's Eve concert over crowd unpredictability.
- Sydney canceled Bondi Beach fireworks following a recent mass shooting incident.
People around the world are prepping to ring in the new year, but some cities have called off or made drastic changes to their planned New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Some of these changes are due to safety and crowd concerns. The changes are being made in cities around the world such as Paris and Tokyo.
The cancellations come as the FBI stopped a New Year’s Eve bombing plot in Los Angeles in mid-December, per Fox News. The agency arrested four alleged gang members, according to reports.
Allegedly the plot included a plan for coordinated bombing attacks meant to target five separate locations across the city. Officials say the attacks were planned using improvised explosive devices.
One year ago, 14 people were killed and more were injured in an attack in New Orleans when a truck drove into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day.
Paris cancels its New Year’s Eve concert
Paris has called off its famous New Year’s Eve live concert that takes place on the Champs-Élysées.
According to Fox News, Jeanne d’Hauteserre, the mayor of the 8th Arrondissement of Paris, said that the cancellation was due to concerns about “unpredictable crowds” and that the areas are “not sized to host this type of event where people are moving.”
There will still be fireworks at the Arc de Triomphe and instead of a live concert, a prerecorded one will be broadcast.
Tokyo’s Shibuya Countdown Event called off
The Shibuya Countdown Event in Tokyo has been canceled by the organizing committee.
“In order to create a safe and secure city, we continue to be vigilant against nuisance behavior arising from drinking on the street as well as the risk of crowd accidents,” wrote Ken Hasebe, Shibuya Ward mayor, in a press release.
The countdown event is typically held in front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo and was canceled due to concerns about large crowds gathering around the station, per Newsweek.
Belgrade calls off its New Year’s Eve celebrations
In Serbia, the city of Belgrade announced that it canceled its New Year’s celebrations.
“This year there will be no organized New Year’s Eve nor Serbian New Year’s Eve celebration,” wrote Mayor Aleksandar Šapić in a press release, per Fox News.
According to Newsweek, the mayor said he didn’t want to put any children at risk during the musical concerts.
Hong Kong cancels its traditional fireworks display
The government in Hong Kong called off its traditional fireworks display for New Year’s Eve this year. Instead, an alternative countdown event will take place that will “convey positive energy, care and blessings of peace to both locals and visitors,” the government said, according to Newsweek.
Hong Kong’s government did not mention why the celebrations were changed, but some local outlets speculated that it could be because of the recent Tai Po fire that burned a number of high-rise buildings, killing at least 160 people.
Sydney cancels fireworks after mass shooting at Bondi Beach
The New Year’s Eve fireworks in Sydney, Australia, have been canceled after the mass shooting on Bondi Beach earlier this month. The display was expected to bring around 15,000 people to Bondi Beach, per Newsweek.
In a statement, the Waverley Council said: “Due to the current situation on the ground, Waverley Council has made the decision to cancel New Year’s Eve events at Bondi Beach.”
According to Newsweek, the event promoter said the decision was made to help keep the focus on giving “compassion and care for Sydney’s Jewish community.”
The Sydney Harbor fireworks show will still continue as normal. At 11 p.m. local time, the Sydney Harbor Bridge will be illuminated white for one minute to honor the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting, per TravelPulse.