New Years Eve During a Pandemic
Everything about this year has been abnormal from parties over Zoom to wearing a mask everywhere you go to not being able to see family and friends regularly. Social distancing and other COVID-19 procedures are sure to carry on during the holidays as well. But what does that mean? Will cities have live streamed events for New Years Eve? Will people be allowed to go out so long as they have a mask and social distance? Will everyone just stay home this year? Will these holidays cause cases to go up? These are all things countries around the world have taken into consideration when it comes to creating a safe holiday for citizens and visitors.
According to the source “Is New Year’s Eve Canceled This Year?” by Apeksha Bhateja, for almost 20 years, London has hosted one of the craziest parties in the street along the River Thames on New Year’s Eve. More than 100,000 people line up to see around 2,000 fireworks right over the Big Ben. This firework show is such an ordeal that in 2018, the show was estimated to cost roughly $2.9 million. Due to the second wave hitting Europe right now, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that the event is canceled. According to the interview with Sadiq Khan in Leading Britain’s Conversation, Khan told LBC, “We simply can’t afford to have the numbers of people who congregate on New Year’s Eve, congregating.” However, in its place a virtual event has been established that Londoners can watch from home. Because of virtual events like these people around the world can experience New Years Eve in London.
The annual firework event in Sydney, Australia, has followed in London’s footsteps. Last year, due to Australian bushfires there were several requests to cancel Sydney’s fireworks out of respect for the communities fighting the fires. However, the fireworks were still on, as they are now. The event has been incredible altered in order to promote social distancing and limit exposure. For example, there will be no firework show for kids at 9 p.m. And the midnight show will be reduced from its typical 12 minutes. Millions of locals and tourists come to see this show, so much so that its estimated cost last year was $6.5 million. But this year there are fewer viewing spots and people are encouraged to watch the virtual presentation instead.
These are only two cities, however, many other major global cities will have virtual fireworks at midnight, as it has become the new normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On a national level, United States cities are changing the way they approach this holiday. Since 1907, every year on December 31st there has been a ball drop at 11:59 in Times Square. And as other events, this ionic American tradition will be held completely virtually. For the protection of residents, Times Square will be blocked off by police so no one can attend the event. According to the article, “Is New Year’s Eve Canceled This Year?” by Apeksha Bhateja, the president of the Times Square Alliance, Tim Tompkins, released a statement and stated, “One thing that will never change is the ticking of time and the arrival of a New Year at midnight on December 31. But this year there will be significantly new and enhanced virtual, visual, and digital offerings to complement whatever limited live entertainment or experiences—still in development—will take place in Times Square.” While things will be altered this year, Americans everywhere can still celebrate this tradition in the comfort of their homes. Unfortunately, Las Vegas has completely canceled their firework show that attracts thousands of visitors every year. Las Vegas during New Year’s Eve is on the bucket list of many and while it may be canceled this year there are plenty of alternative virtual event viewers can take part in.
The holiday season will be different for everyone this year and West Morris Central students have acknowledged that too. Many say that their gathering will be limited to a few friends or a small group of extended family. There seems to be a consensus that the likelihood of COVID-19 cases increasing at this time is higher than normal, especially when people travel out of state to visit family and friends. However, WMC senior Jack Paynter made a slightly controversial point, he said that during these terrible times there needs to be a sense of normalcy, and therefore, thinks “we need to work to find a balance between staying safe and not putting our lives at hold.” Another WMC senior, Aidan Commerford, expressed her concern for living in a small town. She stated, “on a local level, when living in a small town I worry about a large spread and having our hospitals overwhelmed.”
Globally, nationally, and locally everyone is affected and has to make sacrifices in order to protect those around them. However, that does not mean New Year’s Eve has to be a boring night at home. There are plenty of virtual events around the world that people can watch to experience New Years Eve. And there is always zoom to connect with loved ones over the phone.
https://filmdaily.co/news/new-years-eve-2020/
https://www.fodors.com/news/photos/is-new-years-eve-canceled-this-year
Sarah Sehgal's currently a Senior at West Morris Central High School. This is her second year writing for The Paw and she is very excited about it. Sarah...
