No matter how cynical you are about New Years Eve and the surrounding hype, Sydney Harbour‘s world-famous fireworks display is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
This year though, it’s set to be even more special, with the show being a tribute to the late greats David Bowie, Prince and Gene Wilder, all of whom sadly passed away this year.
Songs by the legendary entertainers have been woven into the soundtrack of the night, with the pyrotechnic effects lighting up the harbour at 9pm and midnight.
“Celebrating their music as part of the Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks displays is an opportunity to reflect on the year that’s been and celebrate what the future holds,” said Catherine Flanagan, co-producer of Sydney’s NYE.
Flanagan went on to say the “spectacular” fireworks will shower from the harbour bridge, rain from barges and explode in a very Bowie-esque “space odyssey” above the city.
“Children and adults everywhere are really going to be delighted from the wonderful Willy Wonka moment that we are going to have in this year’s fireworks.”
There will be purple rain, too; naturally. Flanagan said including Bowie and Prince was a no-brainer, since they both had strong ties to ‘Straya.
“Sydney is especially significant to David Bowie, who called Elizabeth Bay home for a decade, Prince performed in Australia many times and his Sydney Opera House concert was one of his last.”
Final preparations for the big night are in full swing as barges are loaded with 120 tonnes of fireworks on Sydney Harbour.
The display costs close to $1 million smackaroonies, which equates to about $45,000 popping off in the sky per minute.
While that sounds like an absurd amount of money for a few minutes of crack and fizzle, the event attracts more than a million revellers to the harbour, which means it’s about a buck per person.
Not too shabby for something so spectacular.
Source: The Age.
Photo: Zak Kaczmarek / Getty.
