The New Year’s Eve fireworks which occur annually in Canberra have been cancelled, just days out from the 2019/2020 celebrations.
The event was cancelled following advice from ACT Emergency Services Agency commissioner, Georgeina Whelan. In Canberra weather is expected to be extreme over the next few days, with a total fan ban instituted and temperatures reaching 39 degrees celsius.
The annual New Year’s Eve fireworks in Canberra have been cancelled amid savage weather conditions and ongoing fire concerns in the area.
“It is a sensible decision for us not to proceed with the fireworks in the ACT,” Commissioner Whelan said.
The fact that many Canberra residents make their way to less accessible vantage points such as Mt Pleasant or Black Mountain was a big contributing factor to the decision. The total fire ban will be instituted until 6am this coming Wednesday.
Other NYE events including live music performances are currently still expected to go ahead, though Events ACT will be monitoring weather conditions and smoke haze to determine if they will need to be cancelled alongside the fireworks.
Meanwhile in NSW over 300,000 people have signed two seperate petitions to cancel the fireworks over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, asking that funding be reallocated to the Rural Fire Service amid ongoing bushfires. The Sydney fireworks are still scheduled to go ahed, but the RFS have refused to rule out a last-minute cancellation.
