{"id":381918,"date":"2025-12-31T05:21:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T05:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/381918\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T05:21:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T05:21:07","slug":"key-viewing-spots-for-sydney-fireworks-reach-capacity-as-city-urged-to-celebrate-first-new-years-eve-since-bondi-attack-sydney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/381918\/","title":{"rendered":"Key viewing spots for Sydney fireworks reach capacity as city urged to celebrate first New Year\u2019s Eve since Bondi attack | Sydney"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of people have taken up key vantage points for New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks, with Chris Minns asking Sydneysiders to \u201csquare your shoulders, puff out your chest and walk out\u201d to celebrate as a show of defiance after the Bondi attack.<\/p>\n

Key viewing sites, including at Mrs Macquarie\u2019s Chair and other areas in the Royal Botanic Garden, were already at capacity<\/a> on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The New South Wales premier said police were putting \u201cextra measures\u201d in place for the city\u2019s public transport system, which many were expected to use before and after Wednesday\u2019s celebrations. He said this was in addition to the presence of more than 2,500 police officers, including some with long-arm weapons<\/a>, on Sydney\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to show strength and resilience during this period,\u201d Minns said on Wednesday. \u201cAnd if that is that you square your shoulders, puff out your chest and walk out even in the face of genuine community concern, I think that we\u2019ve got an obligation do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The transport minister, John Graham, said Transport for NSW was expecting more than a million people to celebrate New Year\u2019s Eve in the city, including at free viewing sites around the harbour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than a thousand extra [public transport] services are going to be in place, that\u2019s at 40% up on a normal day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Public transport services will run continuously for 46 hours, with roads in the CBD closing from noon and train stations close to the harbour closing progressively from 3pm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n

Minns said police were on \u201chigh alert\u201d, and there were extra measures in place on public transport, but declined to provide detail on tactical operations.<\/p>\n

He would not comment on the number of officers carrying long-arms but confirmed they would be embedded in crowds rather than in tactical positions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll be operational and highly visible,\u201d Minns said.<\/p>\n

A minute\u2019s silence was to be observed and the Sydney Harbour Bridge lit up at 11pm, with a menorah, a dove and the words \u201cunity\u201d and \u201cpeace\u201d projected on to the structure.<\/p>\n

Announcements broadcast inside CBD train stations have asked that passengers switch on their phones\u2019 torches at 11pm to \u201cshine a light in solidarity with the victims and anyone affected by the attack\u201d.<\/p>\n

At Circular Quay, a steady stream of people with camping chairs, picnic mats and umbrellas poured out to secure the remaining viewing spots on the harbour\u2019s south side.<\/p>\n

Hours before the midnight display, thousands sat on the concrete looking out towards the bridge. Steve Gunson, 60, from Perth, arrived at about noon with his wife.<\/p>\n

Steve Gunson says seeing Sydney\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks display is a \u201cbucket list thing\u201d. Photograph: Penry Buckley\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

His son warned him not to attend after seeing posts on social media making claims about the security situation.<\/p>\n

But Gunson, in Sydney for the first time, said seeing the fireworks was \u201ca bucket list thing\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was a similar story for Neha and Shonal from Fiji, visiting Australia for a family reunion, who planned to see the 9pm fireworks display before catching a return flight at 6am on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to see the fireworks,\u201d Neha said.<\/p>\n

Their cousin Preeti, from north-west Sydney, said \u201cthere was some hesitance\u201d about attending the celebrations in the CBD after the Bondi attack.<\/p>\n

Neha (seated left) and Shonal (second from right) travelled to Australia from Fiji for a family reunion. Their cousin Preeti (centre) said \u201cthere was some hesitance\u201d about attending fireworks in Sydney after the Bondi attack. Photograph: Penry Buckley\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

But apart from noticing the increased police presence, the group did not feel any concerns for their safety.<\/p>\n

Royal commission calls<\/p>\n

Minns refused to weigh in on whether there should be a federal royal commission into the Bondi attack after the Daily Telegraph reported the state opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, had urged the premier to lobby Anthony Albanese to establish one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [the federal government] have made their decision,\u201d Minns said. \u201cWe\u2019ve made our decision, we are going ahead with the royal commission in NSW.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not something that\u2019s going to be over and done with 20 days, 30 days. We believe there needs to be fundamental change in NSW to combat antisemitism, to combat extremism in our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minns, who visited Ahmed al-Ahmed<\/a> on Tuesday after he was readmitted to hospital, said he would respect the Bondi hero\u2019s privacy but added that the 43-year-old was \u201crecovering\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis injuries are very serious \u2026 he was in serious danger of not making it, and his recovery has been phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of people have taken up key vantage points for New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks, with Chris Minns asking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-381918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}