Berlin
The New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world are almost like they used to be before Corona. What happens where at the turn of the year: from Sydney to Dubai to Kyiv, Berlin, Paris, London, Rio or New York.
When billions of people welcome the New Year on Sunday night – January 1, 2023 – the pandemic will be almost forgotten, unlike in the two previous years. Contact restrictions no longer apply in Germany, and fireworks are also being sold again.
Emergency rooms expect operations like in the pre-Corona times. In Ukraine, too, many don’t want to miss out on a celebratory evening with New Year’s gifts and a banquet – despite the war.
- Berlin: There will again be fireworks at the Brandenburg Gate. ZDF broadcasts the New Year’s Eve show “Welcome 2023” from there – for the first time from the east side, Pariser Platz. The Scorpions and DJ BoBo, among others, are expected as musical guests.
- Vienna: After a two-year Corona break, there will be big celebrations in the city center again. Bands, DJs and gastro stands await hundreds of thousands of visitors on the New Year’s Eve trail. To get you in the mood for the evening, free waltz courses are also offered outdoors in the afternoon right next to St. Stephen’s Cathedral.
- Sydney: In the Australian metropolis, the New Year is celebrated with a huge fireworks display. A record 7,000 firecrackers are set to be set off from the Harbor Bridge, with another 2,000 set off from the iconic Opera House. At the center of the colorful light show, which is expected to be attended by more than a million people, is a rainbow waterfall made of eight tons of fireworks. This year’s events are themed “Diversity and Inclusion” – there will be several performances by Australian Aborigines.
- Dubai: In the desert city there are again fireworks on the facade of the tallest skyscraper in the world (Burj Khalifa/828 meters), where a new world record is to be set with a laser show. In addition, a light show is planned in the Emirati metropolis with hundreds of drones that draw shapes and messages in the night sky. There are also concerts by Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue and Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias.
- Moscow: This year, in most Russian regions, there will be no official New Year’s fireworks. The capital’s administration justified this with an online survey in which the majority of citizens spoke out against loud celebrations. The background is the war against Ukraine. But Moscow has designated places where citizens can set off fireworks themselves. And Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin will also give his New Year’s speech.
- Kyiv: In the Ukrainian capital, however, martial law continues to apply. In the city, which has been repeatedly attacked by rockets, it is illegal to set off fireworks. Many restaurants are festively decorated, including trees. But people often sit in the dark because of power cuts after Russian attacks on power plants. As in Russia, New Year’s Eve is the day for New Year’s gifts – many Ukrainians, like a celebratory meal, don’t miss it despite the war.
- Paris: In the city on the Seine, many will welcome the new year with a light show and a big fireworks display at the Arc de Triomphe. Almost 500,000 people are expected on the magnificent boulevard Champs-Élysées.
- Madrid: Thousands are also expected in the central square of Puerta del Sol in Spain’s metropolis. A grape is eaten with each of the twelve televised midnight chimes because it has always been like this and is supposed to bring good luck. Thousands gather there the day before when the clock masters test whether the bells ring reliably. Only grapes may then under no circumstances be eaten, that is said to bring bad luck. Wine gums or peanuts can be used as a substitute.
- Barcelona: In Catalonia, as in all of Spain, twelve grapes are eaten to ensure good luck in the new year. In the Catalan tourist stronghold on the Mediterranean, people can expect the traditional festival at the Font Màgica de Montjuïc, the fountain famous for its light shows, for the first time since the Corona pandemic. Music and light shows will be complemented by 200 drones drawing figures in the sky. There will be fireworks at midnight.
- Lisbon: In Portugal, too, it is common to eat a bunch of grapes for each of the twelve strokes of the clock tower at midnight. However, some prefer raisins. The focal point of the New Year’s Eve celebrations with fireworks and champagne is the Plaza del Comercio on the Tagus. Like everywhere else in Portugal, there are strange New Year’s traditions. In the hope of economic success in the new year, some put money in their shoes. And red underwear is also said to bring luck in love to Portuguese people.
- London: For the first time since the turn of the year 2019/20, there will be New Year’s fireworks on the “London Eye” Ferris wheel – more than 100,000 ticket holders are expected in the city centre. The Pet Shop Boys are scheduled to perform in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Hogmanay.
- Rio de Janeiro: For the first time since the Corona pandemic, it will be celebrated without restrictions on Copacabana Beach with fireworks and concerts. Musicians and DJs perform on numerous stages. Then, at midnight, the sky is lit up with a 12-minute fireworks display. The organizers expect around two million visitors.
- New York: The traditional New Year’s Eve party has once again been announced for Times Square, where a glowing crystal ball is traditionally lowered from a flagpole during the “Ball Drop”. This year, for the first time since the pandemic began, Manhattan will be celebrating at full capacity – including with singer Chelsea Cutler, the obligatory rain of confetti and the classic “New York, New York” at midnight.
Service:
It takes 26 hours between 11:00 a.m. CET on December 31st and 1:00 p.m. CET on January 1st for the whole globe to slide into the new year. It begins in the island nation of Samoa and ends back in the Pacific at the uninhabited islands of Baker Island and Howland Island. –
31 December (CET):
+ 1100 The island nation of Samoa is the first country to start 2022
+ 1400 eg Sydney in Australia welcomes the new year
+ 2100 e.g. Armenia, United Arab Emirates
+ 2200 e.g. Turkey, Kenya
+ 2300 e.g. Ukraine, Greece, Finland, Baltic States, Romania
+ 0000 eg Germany and large parts of the EU
1 January (CET):
+ 0100 e.g. Great Britain, Portugal, Iceland
+ 0400 e.g. parts of Brazil (Rio), Argentina, Uruguay
+ 0600 e.g. US east coast with New York, Cuba, Peru
+ 0700 e.g. Mexico City and parts of the USA (Chicago)
+ 0900 e.g. California in the USA with Los Angeles
+ 1300 Baker Island and Howland Island in the Pacific (uninhabited)
