Revellers around the world prepared to ring in 2006 on Saturday with fireworks and fanfare, saying goodbye to a year scarred by violence and natural disasters.
Security was tight ahead of New Year’s festivities in major cities worldwide, with events in Sydney due to kick off a night of celebrations from Asia to the Americas.
Tens of thousands were expected to crowd the harbour-front area near the city’s landmark Opera House to get the best view of the spectacular fireworks display at midnight (1pm GMT).
About 1 700 police were patrolling streets and beaches in Australia’s largest city to prevent any outbreaks of violence, following suburban race riots earlier this month that pitted whites against Arab-Australians.
Street parties and glittery displays were planned across Asia and the Pacific, with Hong Kong boasting a massive light and sound show including fireworks to be set off from 20 buildings around its famed Victoria Harbour.
In the Chinese capital Beijing, bells and drums were to be sounded 108 times at midnight (4pm GMT) to mark an auspicious start to the year, signifying the elimination of worldly troubles in accordance with Buddhist tradition.
Authorities in Indonesia — already on high alert for possible attacks by Islamic extremists during the New Year period — fanned out in restive Central Sulawesi province after a bombing in a crowded market on Saturday left seven dead.
The festive mood across much of the region contrasted with last year, when prayer vigils and fundraising events replaced jubilant blow-out bashes in the wake of the devastating December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
As Asia struggled to rebuild in 2005 after the giant waves killed more than 220 000 people, natural disaster sent it reeling again this October, when a massive earthquake killed at least 74 000 people in Pakistan and India.
The continent was also to usher in 2006 in the shadow of the bird flu crisis, with dozens of people killed by the deadly virus in Asia in 2005, and amid continued concern about the humanitarian crisis in North Korea.
The Stalinist state, embroiled in a standoff with the international community over its nuclear ambitions, was to cut off United Nations distribution of food aid from Sunday, sparking fears of possible widespread hunger.
In Europe, six months after Britain fell victim to apparent Islamist suicide bombers, with 52 people killed plus the attackers, Prime Minister Tony Blair said the country should not waver in the fight against terrorism.
”We will not let our resolve slip to tackle the dangers we face, both at home, as so tragically illustrated on July 7, and abroad,” Blair said in his New Year message.
Hundreds of thousands were expected to descend on London to ring in the New Year, but a planned 24-hour strike by railway workers on the British capital’s underground subway system could spell travel misery for partygoers.
Across the Channel in France, where a state of emergency is still in force following three weeks of rioting in the country’s suburbs, about 25 000 police and gendarmes have been deployed to prevent a flare-up of violence.
About 4 500 officers were on hand in Paris, where 500 000 people were expected to gather near the Eiffel Tower and on the French capital’s most famous avenue, the Champs-Elysees, to welcome the New Year.
In the United States, one million partygoers packed into New York’s Times Square were to remember the victims of Hurricane Katrina and salute relief workers toiling to clean up New Orleans, ravaged by the massive August storm.
Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, a native of the southern US city, was to press the button triggering the descent of a half-tonne crystal ball to count down the last 60 seconds of the year.
”We want to concentrate on rebirth and rebuilding,” Marsalis said. – AFP
