New Year’s Eve events across the world have been cancelled by local authorities due to safety fears, meaning tens of thousands have had their plans thwarted
New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world are being scrapped due to major concerns from local authorities.
The moves have seen the plans of tens of thousands thwarted, with fireworks, parties and other live events among those cancelled in the run up to December 31. Some unofficial events were cancelled after a planned bombing attack in Los Angeles was uncovered by the FBI, leading to the arrest of four people during a rehearsal of their attack.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli revealed surveillance captured in footage from a drone that showed suspects trying to assemble a bomb. The four alleged suspects were named as Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41, all from the Los Angeles area.
Despite the threat, Los Angeles has not actually cancelled any official events on New Year’s Eve. But there have been several major events cancelled for safety reasons around the world.
Sydney
Australians are still reeling from the devastating shooting at Bondi Beach in which 15 people were killed and a further 40 injured. In response, the popular New Year’s fireworks display on the beach has been cancelled.
“Due to the current situation on the ground, Waverley Council has decided to cancel New Year’s Eve events at Bondi Beach, including elrow XXL Bondi and Local’s Lawn,” Organisers at Waverley Council told Sky News. The decision was made in mind of “compassion and care for Sydney’s Jewish community”, they said.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said the ongoing threat of antisemitism meant Jews were not completely safe. He said: “The real test for us will be one year from now, five years from now, 15 years from now, when the Jewish community feels safe in their community.
“I have spoken to so many members of the Jewish community in the last week who don’t feel safe. They don’t feel safe celebrating their religion, they don’t feel safe getting together as a community and we cannot have a situation where the solution to this horrible terrorism event is to have the Jewish community so we can only exist and celebrate our faith behind big walls.”
Sydney itself will continue to have fireworks, meaning the iconic annual sight of colourful displays over the famous Opera House. Attendees will be given the opportunity for a moment’s silence to honour the dead at Bondi.
Russia
Vladimir Putin’s Russia is used to strict public restrictions, with harsh punishments of several years in jail possible for those who criticise his bloody war in Ukraine, or the Kremlin regime.
Russians are also being told to ring in 2026 quietly and in many places, not to ring it in at all. Across the country, traditional official fireworks displays are being scrapped, mobile internet disruptions are being openly trailed “for security”, and alcohol sales are being restricted, up to and including a full-on holiday prohibition in one regional capital.
It is now four years since Red Square and St Basil’s Cathedral has been lit up by fireworks as January 1 arrives, historically one of the great world sights at New Year. This year, Red Square will be closed, guarded by police.
The curbs are supposedly due to the war in Ukraine, but appear to have gone to an extreme level at New Year, the most important festivity in the Russian calendar. The unspoken message is clear: in wartime Russia, “normal life” is something the Kremlin lectures about, while steadily taking away the things that make a public holiday feel like a holiday.
Russian state media has reported that authorities in at least 64 of Russia’s 89 regions announced they will not hold New Year fireworks in major cities. The actual number of cancellations is expected to be even higher.
Mobile internet is also being curbed ostensibly for “security reasons”, amid fears it guides incoming drone strikes. Independent reporting has documented how Russia’s mobile internet shutdowns surged in 2025, with authorities frequently citing “security” and drone threats as justification, while everyday services get caught in the blast radius.
Russians are also being deprived of vodka to usher in the New Year in some regions. Some of the restrictions in Russia include:
- In Omsk, alcohol and even energy drinks have been removed near events from December 28 until January 11
- In Irkutsk, no alcohol will be allowed within 100 metres of celebration sites
- In Abakan, booze is banned for eight days at venues hosting mass events, plus parks and squares
Paris
Police concerns have led to the cancellation of a popular music event on the Champs-Elysées, Parisian outlet sortiraparis reported. Police urged Mayor Anne Hidalgo to call off the event over fears of crushes due to the huge crowds. Paris’ main fireworks event will carry on as normal.
Tokyo
Similar fears of a crush have also led to authorities in the Japanese capital of Tokyo cancelling the countdown outside the city’s iconic Shibuya Station. Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe said fears of public drinking also contributed to the decision, local reports suggest.
Jakarta
The central government in Indonesia says it will back several regions in their plans to forgo fireworks in solidarity with victims of recent floods on the island of Sumatra. The death toll from catastrophic floods and landslides in parts of Asia surged past 1,500 earlier this month.
The tragedy was compounded by warnings that decades of deforestation caused by unchecked development, mining and palm oil plantations may have worsened the devastation. Calls have grown for the government to act.
“We need the government to investigate and fix forest management,” said Rangga Adiputra, a 31-year-old teacher whose home in West Sumatra was swept away. The hills above his village on the outskirts of Padang city had been scarred by illegal logging. “We don’t want this costly disaster to happen again,” he said. Over 900 people in Indonesia alone were confirmed to have died.
Belgrade
The Serbian capital of Belgrade will cancel some events due to what it says are concerns for the safety of children. This includes events on New Year’s Eve and also on the Serbian New Year’s Eve on January 14.
Mayor Aleksandar Šapić said there had been previous instances of barriers being broken down at events.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, an alternative display will be shown after the fireworks display was cancelled. It comes after the city’s deadliest fire in decades. At least 160 people were killed at an apartment complex at Wang Fuk Court, in the northern suburban district of Tai Po, which was undergoing a months long renovation project with buildings covered by bamboo scaffolding and green netting.
The youngest person who died in the fire was a 1-year-old, police said. The oldest was 97.
