New Year's Eve fireworks to go ahead in Sydney despite petition calling for cancellation

Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks will go ahead despite an online petition, garnering more than 250,000 signatures, calling on them to be cancelled out of respect for the victims of the recent bushfires.

The petition organiser also noted that with more than enough smoke in the air already, the millions spent on the pyrotechnics should be redirected to help fight fires and rebuild communities.

In response to the petition, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore stated that the fireworks were planned 15 months in advance and couldn't be cancelled as most of the budget, largely used for crowd safety and cleaning measures, has already been spent.

Lord Mayor Moore also added that the fireworks will “bring a bit of happiness” and help the community come together in a tough time.

A statement released by the City of Sydney advised that “cancelling the fireworks would have little practical benefit for affected communities.

“We appreciate the concerns people have around holding the Sydney New Year's eve fireworks while large parts of Australia deal with bushfires and drought. And we've heard the calls from people to cancel the event and donate the budget to relief efforts.

“Cancelling the event would seriously hurt Sydney businesses. It would also ruin plans for tens of thousands of people from across the country and overseas who have booked flights, hotels and restaurants for New Year’s Eve.”

The City of Sydney spends $6.5 million on its New Year’s Eve event - not just on fireworks but a large proportion on crowd control and safety measures.

Destination NSW estimates that in return Sydney earns $130 million in direct economic benefits, such as increased spending on hotels and restaurants.

Economic benefits to Sydney are also boosted through the free marketing from the famed images of the fireworks over the Harbour Bridge beamed to a global audience of one billion people, showcasing Sydney to the world as a safe, inclusive and attractive place to visit.

Lord Mayor Moore also added that “rather than cancelling New Year's Eve, we’ve donated $620,000 to support communities and wildlife impacted by bushfire and drought and offered our trucks and staff to help emergency services with clean-up and recovery efforts.

“We are also promoting an online fundraiser for the Red Cross Disaster Recovery and Relief Fund in the lead-up to and on New Year’s Eve.

“During the broadcast and on the night, we'll encourage those gathered around the harbour and watching at home to give generously.

The City of Sydney celebrations which are expected to attract one million people to the harbour foreshore will top last year's Harbour Bridge display with an additional 1100 firework effects and more than 100,000 pyrotechnic effects featuring in the celebrations.

The City of Sydney has also advised that their fireworks will be biodegradable to reduce waste and environmental impact with the event being “greener this year, with our sites and operations using 100% accredited GreenPower.”