New Year’s Celebrations Around The World
Posted December 31, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
About one million Australians gathered at the Sydney Harbour for daylong festivities capped off by a fireworks display off the famous Harbour Bridge (pictured). The iconic crossing that links the central business district to the North Shore celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2007.
In Japan, thousands of people scaled Mount Fuji to greet the first sunrise of the New Year. About 15,000 climbers, young and old, were expected to reach the summit to take in the view.
And Japanese authorities expected millions of visitors at the nation’s Shinto and Buddhist temples over the first three days of 2007 to offer prayers for prosperity and peace.
The mood wasn’t as celebratory in Thailand, where security was tight and the main New Year’s celebrations were cancelled due to a string of bombings New Year’s Eve that killed two people and injured dozens of others in Bangkok.
And in the Philippines, authorities tried to curb any accidental deaths by threatening to arrest anyone caught using oversized fireworks. But there were those who decided to ignore the warning and 284 people were injured by the amateur pyrotechnics and celebratory gunfire in the two weeks leading up to the New Year – a 75 percent increase from last year.
“I have campaigned every day against firecrackers,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said. “But this has become a deeply rooted part of our culture.”
In London, England revellers gathered around Big Ben to celebrate the strike of midnight and the arrival of 2007 was very special in Romania and Bulgaria with the two nations becoming the newest members of the European Union.
Huge celebrations were held in Bucharest and Sofia to mark the event.
For events happening around the GTA on New Year’s Eve, click here.
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