Extraordinary numbers reveal how Sydney welcomed the New Year

More than 1 million revellers braved the hours-long wait and heaving crowds to catch a glimpse of the tonnes of fireworks that lit up Sydney Harbour in spectacular fashion on New Year’s Eve.

Nine tonnes of fireworks were set off over the two displays – that’s 23,000 pyrotechnic shots, 40,000 ground-based effects and 13,000 aerial shells, including a custom-made shell that exploded into emu walking tracks.

The display was visible for seven kilometres along Sydney Harbour and waterways, but with the highest firework reaching 450 metres, plenty of Sydneysiders crowding on suburban roofs and apartment balconies could still enjoy the show.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the fireworks launched to the west of the Harbour Bridge, for the first time, meant spots filled up by 8pm, earlier than in previous years.

“This is why we put it on,” she said on Wednesday morning. “People have somewhere to go, something to do, and in this case, they’re absolutely inspired by the amazing creativity and being able to enjoy and see our city.”

Along with the 1 million people on land, more than 1000 boats crowded into the water to watch the show from the best seat in the house – Sydney Harbour.

Police praised the good behaviour of revellers. The overwhelming majority of Sydneysiders enjoyed their New Year’s Eve celebration and returned home safely, with 36 arrests made across the city for a range of offences including assault, affray, robbery and knife possession.

Officers in Guildford were kept busy before the clock had struck midnight, when a group of males started setting off illegal fireworks at Bright Park. When police arrived, they found a 17-year-old boy had been stabbed in the back.

He was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

In another incident, police confronted two groups in Coogee who were having a verbal altercation at about 10pm. Police allege a teenage boy swore at police and resisted arrest, before spitting on an officer.

He also allegedly kicked the door of a police car, causing it to hit an officer. He was charged with resisting police and assaulting police, and will appear at a children’s court on Wednesday.

While a few people doing the wrong thing kept police busy, most Sydneysiders spent the evening celebrating responsibly, Police Commissioner Karen Webb said.

“There were of course calls in suburbs to illegal fireworks … police were busy, they remained busy overnight, and they are still busy today helping some people get home from the festivities, but generally very pleased with the event,” she said.

Premier Chris Minns said despite his concerns ahead of the event, with the protracted industrial relations stoush between the government and rail union, transport on New Year’s Eve ran smoothly.

Such was the eagerness of some to ring in the New Year, plenty of revellers woke almost 24 hours before the clock struck 12 to secure prime harbourside real estate for the city’s world-famous fireworks display.

The crowd at Sydney’s Domain, one of the city’s prime viewing spots, was by 10am thick with revellers, including those who woke in the early hours of New Year’s Eve to secure their patch of grass. Some early risers caught up on much-needed sleep after settling into their coveted digs.

“We aren’t usually the sort of people to wait for 20 hours for a 20-minute fireworks show, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said 20-year-old German backpacker Hanna Kronziel, who was out of bed at 1am on Tuesday to find the perfect vantage point with friends.

“It’s why I couldn’t sleep the night before – maybe I got one or two hours – because I was excited like a little kid.”

Others took their chances at some of the city’s most popular spots as people descended on the city to witness nine tonnes of fireworks light up the sky at 9pm and midnight.

By 3.30pm on Tuesday, many of the most sought-after locations, including Mrs Macquaries Point, the Royal Botanic Garden, the Opera House and Circular Quay, were full. By 10.30am, one of the lower north shore’s most popular vantage points, Blues Point, had reached capacity.

At 9pm, those lucky enough to beat the rush saw the Calling Country display, created by Indigenous group We Are Warriors, project images of Aboriginal fisherwoman Barangaroo across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and paint the city’s skyline blue.

Just under three hours later, weary families and wide-eyed partygoers rang in the New Year as some 53,500 fireworks exploded in just 12 minutes.

On Tuesday morning, the message from Lord Mayor Clover Moore was for Sydneysiders to start 2025 by being “patient and relaxed” after the festivities as they left the city on the increased public transport services that avoided the threat of mass train strikes to the shadows of 2024.

“There’ll be plenty of transport and it’s a walking night, be ready. I’m sure people have walkable shoes, so it’s just about being patient, sensible and happy,” she said.

Further from the front-row viewing of Sydney Harbour, families flocked to a free concert at Parramatta Park, while others dotted along the coastline, including at Manly and Bayview on the northern beaches.

There were, however, plenty undaunted by the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and the last of the summer sun for 2024.

Karan and Shavvy Singh travelled from the Hawkesbury to Circular Quay with 11 family members from three generations to nab as close a spot to the action as possible, vowing to stay for the midnight display.

For Grafton grandmother Anne Smith, a day that started with a swim at Bondi Beach was capped off with her first Sydney fireworks show alongside daughter Danille and grandchildren Netiri and Dmitri, who live on the Sunshine Coast. From their Circular Quay vantage point, they could see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

With Penry Buckley and Anthony Segaert

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