People's Daily Online, Sydney, January 1 (Huang Zhengzheng, Zhang Shuhui) At 0:00 local time on January 1, gorgeous fireworks lit up the sky over Sydney Harbour, Australia, with more than 1 million people and 42.5 billion global live viewers welcome the arrival of 2024. For the first time, animated footage created by artificial intelligence was displayed on the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
On January 1, 2024, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, the scene of the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks celebration. (Photo by Meng Dexin).
As one of the first cities in the world to welcome the New Year, Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks celebration is renowned for its grandeur and cutting-edge technology. Visitors from all over the world flock to Sydney to welcome the New Year.
Li Xin, from China, told People's Daily Online that in order to participate in this New Year's Eve fireworks feast, she got up at 5 o'clock in the morning and rushed to the Royal Botanic Garden at 6 o'clock, occupying an ideal viewing position.
Octavio Riso and his party from Argentina say that even the rain in Sydney in the morning did not dampen their enthusiasm because they thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Germany's Finn and his three high school graduates were eagerly awaiting the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks as they heard it was a legendary party and had travelled from afar to experience the award-winning fireworks event firsthand.
The evening celebration was divided into two parts: a family-friendly fireworks display at 9 a.m. and a main fireworks display at midnight.
At night in Sydney Harbour, thousands of fireworks pour down like a Milky Way waterfall, presenting a feast for the eyes. More than 80,000 pyrotechnic effects are shown, including bright white, peach, lime, silver, gold, purple, yellow, burnt orange, pink, blue and other colorful fireworks, as well as color-changing fireworks. Among them, including 360,000 ground fireworks and 130,000 aerial fireworks showcasing comets, mines, crosshairs, Saturn's rings, serpentine, horsetail willow and other fireworks effects, as well as more than 580,000 single-shot fireworks, the entire performance lasts about 12 minutes, symbolizing the official start of the new year in Sydney.
A total of more than 85 tons of fireworks, using fireworks launch equipment loaded in 18 containers. In addition, 15 professional computers are used to control the precise launch of fireworks, as well as 250,000 igniters ensured the smooth running of the fireworks display. The highest fireworks display is 380 meters high, and all fireworks are synchronized with a customized soundtrack. More than 7,000 fireworks will be set off on 184 sites on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the most fireworks ever set off on four sails at the Sydney Opera House, and another 9,000 fireworks will be set off on a fireworks barge.
Fortunato Foti, the general director of the festival's fireworks show, said that ** was an important part of creating the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks celebration, and his design concept was to make the fireworks look like they were dancing with **.
The New Year's Eve fireworks festival will be set off at six water platforms, four pontoons, five city rooftops, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House within a 6km radius of Sydney Harbour.
On December 31, 2023, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, the scene of the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks celebration. (Photo by Meng Dexin).
The Lord Mayor of Sydney, Australia, Crawford Moore, said the celebration brought together people of all ages from more than 200 cultural backgrounds in the city, as well as thousands of interstate and international visitors, showcasing the best of the city – a beautiful harbour, a relaxed lifestyle and a love of togetherness.