Sydney ready to kick off New Year"s Eve party ahead of 2014

Revellers are gathering around the country to count down the final hours of 2013 and welcome in the new year.

For the first time in more than a decade, the Opera House will play a key role in Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.

About 1.5 million people are expected to converge on the harbour tonight to watch the fireworks display, which will include nearly 1,000 fireworks that will be set off from four of the Opera House’s sails.

The first group through the gates this morning was from Taiwan – they had lined up for 24 hours to stake their claim on a little patch of grass.

For their efforts, they have unobstructed views of the harbour, the bridge and the Opera House.

Artist Reg Mombassa, best known for his work for the surfwear brand Mambo and his founding role in the band Mental As Anything, is the creative ambassador for this year’s display.

A third round of fireworks has been added to accommodate a special show based on a Mombassa self-portrait, titled Cranium Universe.

In Brisbane, the man behind this year’s fireworks display is promising a spectacular show.

Max Brunner says the pyrotechnics will be fired from three barges on the Brisbane River and three buildings in the CBD.

“So there’s going to be over 30,000 individual pyrotechnic effects between the two displays, all synchronised and choreographed to the music so it should dance in harmony together,” he said.

More fireworks for Adelaide, Hobart

In South Australia, parties across the state will carry on into the night, with the biggest celebrations expected in Adelaide.

The Elder Park Rotunda will be the centrepiece of celebrations in the city, as local artists headline the new year concert.

Photo:

Crowds have swamped Mrs Macquarie’s Chair in Sydney. (AAP: Nikki Short)

Fireworks will light up the city, with a family display at 9pm (ACST) before the main event at midnight.

Public transport is free after midnight but there will also be 1,100 taxis on the roads.

In Hobart, more than 50 extra police will be on the beat to monitor the behaviour of New Year’s Eve revellers.

Organisers anticipate the fireworks, yachts and Taste of Tasmania will attract a crowd of up to 10,000.

Inspector Glen Woolley says police will not tolerate anti-social behaviour and the message to revellers is simple.

“Make sure you look after your mates, make sure you have a plan about where you’re going to, how you’re going to get home, but also not to drink to such an extent that you’re not able to care of yourself,” he said.

Big crowds expected in NT, ACT

In the Northern Territory, police say they will be monitoring entertainment precincts with large crowds of people during New Year’s Eve.

Acting Police Commissioner Shane Maines says more than 300 police will be working across the Territory tonight.

New Year countdown

Find out which countries will bring in the new year first. All times in Australian Eastern Daylight Time.

9:00pm – Kiribati and Samoa

9:15pm – Chatham Islands (New Zealand)

10:00pm – New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga

11:00pm – Regions of Russia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu,

11:30pm – Norfolk Island

Midnight – Australia (NSW, Victoria, ACT), Solomon Islands

12.30am – Australia (South Australia)

1:00am – Australia (Queensland), PNG, United States (Guam)

1:30am – Australia (Northern Territory)

2:00am – Japan, South Korea, North Korea, East Timor

2:15am – Australia (Western Australia)

3:00am – China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore

Rest of the world: Read the full list or use an interactive map

Source: timeanddate.com

He says extra foot patrol and specialist units will be operating in Darwin, along with operations in Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.

Mr Maines says there will also be more mounted police, dog operations and traffic police conducting random breath tests.

“I’m hoping that everyone gets the message and actually takes advantage of the free public transport, particularly here in Darwin, or to make alternative arrangements.

“Don’t drive your car if you’ve been drinking. Make it a great night and don’t spend your New Year’s Eve in our accommodation.”

In Canberra, more than 50,000 people are expected to gather in Civic for tonight’s celebrations.

The festivities include a family concert and a dance party in Garema Place.

There will be fireworks displays in the city at 9pm (AEDT) and midnight.

Police will also be out in force, with an extra 90 officers called in.

There will be free night bus services out of Civic across eight suburban routes after the festivities.

Police warn Melbourne revellers behave

In Melbourne, more than 300 police will be deployed across the CBD tonight with more than 500,000 revellers expected in the city.

Police have warned people against drinking alcohol in public areas, with fines for public drunkenness topping $500.

Assistant Police Commissioner Andrew Crisp says officers will treat partygoers fairly.

“But if people are not doing the right thing, if they are in fact engaging in anti-social behaviour, if they’re drinking, if they’re causing a nuisance to others, then I expect our members to be firm.”

Public transport will be free from 6pm (AEDT) this evening and there will be extra services to get partygoers home.

In Perth, dozens of extra buses, trains and ferries will be in service to assist crowds attending tonight’s celebrations.

Transperth’s David Hynes says the authorities are confident it will be more than enough to comfortably deal with the expected crowds.

“We have lots of buses and, depending on the time, sometimes the buses and trains might be a bit crowded but there’s so many of them and the festivities are spread out over such a time, that there’s no real crunch point,” he said.

Dubai looking to top Sydney

Tonga, located near the international dateline, will be one of the first nations to greet 2014.

The deeply religious Pacific country is holding a week-long prayer festival that culminates with bamboo “cannons” fired into the air.

But most overseas celebrations will come after Australians have seen in the new year.

Dubai is challenging Sydney’s claim to the best show on Earth – pledging a record-breaking explosion of more than 400,000 fireworks stretching over 100 kilometres.

Dubai hopes to break the Guinness world record for the largest fireworks display, which will spread over the Gulf emirate’s man-made islands and the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower.

Neighbouring Kuwait currently holds the mark, set in 2011 with an epic hour-long show of 77,282 fireworks.

Large events planned for London, Cape Town, Singapore

Major spectaculars will also light up the River Thames in London when Big Ben bongs midnight, Moscow’s Red Square and Kremlin and Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.

In Rio de Janeiro, authorities are predicting 2.3 million people – a third of them tourists – will crowd Copacabana Beach for fireworks and pop music.

An expected 1 million revellers will gather in New York to mark the stroke of midnight and the traditional New Year’s Eve ball-drop over Times Square.

Cape Town will have a free concert with lasers, fireworks and a special 3D tribute to Nelson Mandela who died on December 5.

Images from the anti-apartheid hero’s life will be projected onto City Hall where he gave his first speech after his release from 27 years in prison in 1990.

Before that, cities across Asia will hail the New Year, with Hong Kong boasting the biggest-ever countdown show for the Chinese city.

Fireworks will be lit from the top of skyscrapers and a one-kilometre line of barges along Victoria Harbour in a “wish upon a star” tourism board show.

In Singapore, people will flock to Marina Bay financial district for the fireworks while thousands of white spheres will be launched to bob on the water, each containing wishes for 2014 penned by residents.

Jakarta has set up 12 city centre stages for performances to showcase the vast archipelago’s kaleidoscope of cultures.

However, 6,500 police will be out to ensure security in and around the Indonesian capital amid warnings that extremists in the Muslim-majority country may target the celebrations, prompting travel warnings from countries including Australia.

ABC/AFP

Sydney ready to kick off New Year"s Eve party ahead of 2014