The UAE broke several world records with stunning New Year’s Eve fireworks displays as the world ushered in 2022 on Friday with scaled-back celebrations due to new restrictions aimed at slowing soaring Covid cases — although hope remained for a better new year.
The Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba has set three Guinness World Records with a dazzling fireworks display that lasted for 40 minutes to welcome 2022. The spectacular fireworks broke records in terms of volume, duration and form during the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Abu Dhabi.
As we bid farewell to a year full of achievements for the UAE, we welcome 2022 with confidence of the best to come.
Happy New Year to you, your families and your countries .
May the New Year 2022 bring peace and prosperity to humanity.
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) December 31, 2021
The Ras Al Khaimah New Year’s Eve celebrations also dazzled all with a never-before-seen fireworks display that smashed two Guinness World Records titles.
Apart from the fireworks, there was also the first-of-its-kind show featuring 2,022 drones. Additionally, there were cultural shows, dance performances and activities from 3 pm till the midnight fireworks.
The fireworks show was also a tribute to the UAE as it marks its 50th year of formation and an ode to Ras Al Khaimah’s growing stature as one of the region’s leading tourism destinations.
Rising majestically from the Gulf, the fireworks display featured innovative pyrotechnic drone performances, over 15,000 effects, spanning an area of over 4.7 kilometres.
Dubai too went ahead with its celebrations despite the surge in infections, with 36 firework displays at 29 locations. But authorities warned they would fine anyone in attendance not wearing a protective mask.
Expo 2020 Dubai amazed the crowd with a Times Square-inspired midnight ball drop that counted down the seconds to 2022.
The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, set off another record-breaking display despite a slew of COVID-19 cases.
In Jumeirah, a stunning drone show at Bluewaters captivated the audiences celebrating the New Year. All those watching the events live, whether at public places, hotels or restaurants in Dubai were told to wear masks and register with identifying QR barcodes.
Muted celebrations across the globe
From Seoul to San Francisco, celebrations were again cancelled or curtailed in the face of the surge in infections.
About 7,000 people in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol — half the usual capacity due to Covid restrictions — rang in the new year by eating grapes, one for each time the clock chimed up to 12.
Police officers patrolled the Champs-Elysees in Paris, lit with glittering red lights and festooned with “2022” balloons, also on the lookout for people without masks.
Most people were simply asked to wear one, but some who argued were fined.
“It is constraining to put on the mask… but it’s no problem” to follow the rule, said Antoine Pham, smiling. The 38-year-old and his partner came from Belgium to Paris for the evening.
In Sydney, which normally bills itself as the “New Year’s Eve capital of the world”, the vast harbour where people gathered to watch the city’s fireworks was notably uncrowded.
With tourists still unable to enter the country and many residents fearful of the rapid spread of Omicron, tens of thousands were estimated to have attended, rather than the usual one million-plus.
Still, the city saw New Year’s Eve in with a bang — igniting six tonnes of technicoloured fireworks that lit up the Opera House and floating barges.
“I’m just trying to focus on the positive things that happened this year,” 22-year-old medical student Melinda Howard told AFP ahead of the show.
In Tunis, authorities cited the “rise in cases” of coronavirus for the last-minute cancellation of festivities.
In contrast, South Africa — the first country to report Omicron back in November — lifted a curfew late Thursday to allow festivities to go ahead.
Health officials said that a dip in infections in the past week indicated the peak of the current wave had passed — crucially without a significant increase in deaths.
With tourists still unable to enter Australia and many residents fearful of the rapid spread of Omicron, tens of thousands were estimated to have attended, rather than the usual one million-plus.
In Rio, celebrations on Copacabana Beach went ahead in a scaled-back format, although crowds of revellers still arrived at the traditional party spot.
After last year’s festivities were cancelled due to Covid, it was a comparatively muted return for Rio, as health measures restricted the numbers of revellers to a fraction of the record three million people from two years ago.
A ban on musical performances, traffic and public transport made for a more diluted atmosphere on the city’s iconic beach.
“I was expecting many more people, and stress, but it’s calm, I like it,” said Colombian neuroscientist Alejandra Luna, 28, whose hope for 2022 is to “kiss and cuddle without thinking much about it.”
In Mexico City, authorities canceled a number of planned mass outdoor events, including a music concert on one of the capital’s main boulevards, following an increase in coronavirus cases.
“Health comes first and the cancellations are sending a kind of message that this is serious,” Victor Arturo Madrid, a 59-year-old teacher, told AFP.
The World Health Organization has warned of trying times ahead, saying Omicron could lead to “a tsunami of cases”.
Many Western leaders have been hesitant to reimpose strict controls seen in 2020, for fear of sparking a new economic downturn.
The World Health Organization has warned of trying times ahead, saying Omicron could lead to “a tsunami of cases”.
But on-again-off-again restrictions have still prompted frequent, vocal and occasionally violent anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine and anti-government protests.
US President Joe Biden urged unity for the new year in a video message, during which he also praised “extraordinary” Americans.
“As we head into 2022, I want folks to remember: There’s not a single thing America cannot do when we do it together,” he said on Twitter alongside the video.
Experts and non-experts alike hope that 2022 may be remembered as a new, less deadly phase of the pandemic.
“Hopefully 2022 is going to be better for everyone,” said 31-year-old reveller Oscar Ramirez in Sydney. “Everyone in the world needs a big change.”
(With inputs from agencies)
