The New Year has started quieter than usual, without big celebrations and spectacular fireworks. People are looking forward to 2021 in the hope that the Corona pandemic will end.
The year 2021 has come! People in Germany celebrated the New Year, but at the time of the Corona pandemic, many things were different. Germany's biggest New Year's holiday was canceled in Berlin. Where hundreds of thousands of people always gather and celebrate was mostly empty. From the Brandenburg Gate there was only one live television broadcast with numerous musicians. At midnight the Brandenburg Gate was lit with fireworks and a small display of lights.
Berlin police were prepared for any intervention. But there were only a few sporadic violations of the restrictions due to the Corona virus. Overall, the situation is "very calm," a police spokesman said. Occasionally, fireworks were heard and seen in restricted areas. But only from time to time.
Due to the Corona pandemic throughout Germany there were strict restrictions. Public celebrations and gatherings were banned in Germany, but also in many other countries. A traffic ban reigned in Paris. Instead of public celebrations, a concert by Jean-Michel Jarre was held online - as a virtual background avatar of Notre-Dame Cathedral. There was also a recorded broadcast with star DJ David Guetta in front of the Louvre museum.
Public celebrations were also banned in Italy. Music festivities could only be watched on television or online. Rome has banned fireworks until January 6th. In Greece, on the other hand, there were large fireworks in many cities to entertain people who had been banned from leaving.
Holidays and fireworks are also canceled in many other parts of the world, such as Amsterdam, London, New York, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo.
New Year in Russia has been welcomed under the heavy shadow of high death rates from the Corona virus. The traditional fireworks display near the Kremlin was held in Moscow. But Moscow residents prayed to stay home and celebrate with close family.
New Zealand welcomed New Virgo earlier in the day. There were no restrictions in this country, as no new case of Corona virus infection has been registered there for weeks. Large crowds have gathered in Auckland and other cities.
There were no spectacular fireworks this time at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, where those who violated the measures were fined 620 euros. Sydney was like a ghost town, eyewitnesses say.
In the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan, where the Corona virus first broke out, thousands of people dropped balloons into the sky.
New Year celebrations and receptions last today until 13.00. The last place to celebrate the change of motto are the uninhabited islands of Baker Island as well as Howland in the Pacific Ocean.
bc / qu / gri (dpa, afp, rtr)
