Revellers throng to New Year’s parties after COVID hiatus

With countdowns and fireworks, revelers in major urban centers in the Asia-Pacific region are preparing for the first new year without the restrictions of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in 2020.

The lockdown in many places at the end of 2020 and the surge in Omicron cases at the end of 2021 led to many restrictions and reduced celebrations. However, restrictions on celebrations have been lifted this year after Australia, like many countries around the world, reopened its borders and lifted social distancing restrictions.

As COVID-19 continues to cause death and devastation — especially in China, which is battling a nationwide outbreak after suddenly easing measures to control its spread — most countries have eased quarantine requirements, restrictions on visitors and frequent testing. limited travel and places people can visit.

Celebrations were held on the Great Wall in Beijing, while Shanghai authorities said traffic would be halted along the Bund to allow pedestrians to gather on New Year’s Eve. Shanghai Disneyland will also hold a special fireworks display to welcome 2023.

On the last day of a year marked by the brutal war in Ukraine, many in the country returned to the capital Kyiv to spend New Year’s Eve with their loved ones. As Russian attacks continue to target power supplies, leaving millions without power, no major celebrations are expected and curfews will be imposed as the clock rings in the new year. But for most Ukrainians, being with their families has become a luxury.

Still wearing his military uniform, Mykyta clutched a bouquet of pink roses as he waited for his wife Valeriia to arrive from Poland on platform 9. They hadn’t seen each other in six months. “It’s really hard, you know, to wait a long time,” he told The Associated Press after hugging and kissing Valeriia.

The couple declined to share their surnames for security reasons as Mykyta has been fighting on the front lines in southern and eastern Ukraine. Valeriia first fled the conflict in Spain but later moved to Poland. Asked what her New Year’s Eve plans are, Valeriia simply replied: “Just to be together.”

Ukraine in the minds of some people

Concerns about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the economic upheaval it is causing around the world are also being felt in Tokyo, where Shigeki Kawamura has appeared to be doing better. They are already lining up for free hot meals this New Year.

“I hope the war will end in Ukraine so prices will stabilize,” he said. “Nothing has been good for the people since we had Mr. Kishida,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

“Our wages are not going up, and our situation is getting worse. The privileged may be doing well, but we are not the ones who work hard.”

He was one of several hundred people braving the cold in a line around a Tokyo park to receive a free meal of sukiyaki, or slices of beef cooked in a sweet sauce, with rice.

In addition to sukiyaki box lunches, volunteers distributed bananas, onions, carton eggs and small hand warmers in the park. Booths are set up for medical and other consultations.

Kenji Seino, who heads a food program called Tenohasi, which means “hand bridge,” said the number of people coming to eat has increased, with jobs becoming harder to find.

Million dollar celebration in Sydney

More than one million people are expected to throng Sydney’s waterfront for a multimillion-dollar celebration based on the theme of diversity and inclusion.

Organizers say the rainbow waterfall will be a prominent feature of the New Year’s party. More than 7,000 fireworks were launched from the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and more than 2,000 from the nearby Opera House.

It’s a “festival that Sydney deserves,” Stephen Gilby, the city’s leading event and festival producer, told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“We have had a couple of quite difficult years; we are really happy this year to be able to welcome people back to the foreshores of Sydney Harbor for Sydney’s world-famous New Year’s Eve celebrations,” he said.

In Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, organizers have organized a family-friendly fireworks display on the banks of the Yarra River in the evening before the second session at midnight.

The Pacific nation of Kiribati was the first country to celebrate the new year, clocking in at 2023 one hour ahead of neighbors including New Zealand.

In Auckland, crowds gathered beneath the Sky Tower, where a 10-second countdown to midnight preceded the fireworks display.

The celebration in New Zealand’s largest city was well received after COVID-19 forced it to be canceled a year ago.