More than 1m people flock to Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks spectacular
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Nine tonnes of fireworks are set off around the harbour, while Brisbane and Melbourne also enjoyed shows. Australians have bid farewell to 2024, ringing in the new year with one “world-famous” fireworks display and many others not so famous. More than a million people rushed to the shores of the Sydney Harbour and hundreds of thousands more to the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne to watch the midnight displays.
![[Fireworks are seen over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4dbdcc252d8326e418f73aff60c98e7e1bf5ac4e/0_0_7742_5161/master/7742.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Those who secured a harbour view earned a stunning front-row display as fireworks dazzled the harbour from both the east and west sides of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time. The composer Luna Pam debuted her 12-minute underwater-themed fireworks soundtrack at midnight, which rang out alongside skyward explosions and AI projections.
![[Fireworks in Sydney.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/627e02e06afdf871f664bfd208b4810f3a826cdd/0_550_8256_4954/master/8256.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Early displays for families kicked off celebrations in Sydney and Melbourne at 9pm. Roman and Monica Gezernek from Germany had waited for hours at the Rocks for their first Sydney pyrotechnics. “They’re world famous apparently so we have to see them,” Gezernek said before the first show.
![[Monica and Roman Gezernek pose for a photo at the Rocks ahead of the New Year’s Eve celebrations.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f5b7ca1700b3bd5b02621b78375e77449d583433/0_0_3886_2591/master/3886.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The pair had claimed their spot at one of the harbour’s many vantage points, most of which were at capacity by mid-afternoon, while pleasure craft crammed where they were allowed on the water. As a child Meg Brown would watch from her home in Britain at TV coverage of Sydney’s fireworks.
![[Crowds on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1bfe52ef8b0d85517f53a2b2a549b574c424d3a2/0_157_6500_3901/master/6500.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
