Sydney New Years Eve information including Sydney Harbour

Sydney

With crowds of more than 1.5 million people, Sydney has arguably the second largest New Year celebrations worldwide, after Rio de Janeiro (which attracts over 3 million people on Copacabana Beach; New York and London both average crowds between 800,000 and 1,000,000).

New Year revellers benefit from the harbour city's warm summer weather and natural amphitheatre. Over 80,000 fireworks are traditionally set off from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and six other firing points covering 6km along Sydney Harbour. The event can be seen from a 16km radius around Sydney and attracts an average of 300,000 international tourists each year.

The Harbour of Lights Parade adds to the attraction as cruise boats covered in fairy lights cruise the centre of the harbour all night. These vessels have the prime position for the evening. Sydney has recently been acknowledged by numerous media sources as having the world's best New Year celebrations, topping the list of cities such as New York City, Edinburgh, Paris, and London.