Muted New Year celebrations for second year in row

Indians wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus welcome 2022 in Ahmedabad. India saw increased restrictions introduced on December 31 as officials cautioned people against celebrations. Photo: AP/Ajit Solanki

A New Year's Eve dampened by Covid-19 may not be unprecedented but it was certainly unwelcome.

For the second year, New Year's celebrations around the globe were muted as the latest variant rapidly spreads across the continents.

Siobhán Falvey of Waterfall, Co. Cork, ringing in the New Year with a little help from Swipers the cat. Photo: Denis Minihane

Here in Ireland, there were no crowds gathering to watch fireworks, no dancefloor countdowns and, for many people, not even a small family get-together to see out the old year and ring in the new. Instead, we entered 2022 with a quiet, fragile hope that perhaps this will be the year we leave Covid-19 behind.

Dublin's annual New Year's Festival, including the matinée in Dublin Castle and a street party near Stephen's Green, was cancelled when new public health restrictions were introduced by Government before Christmas.

Part of the New Year’s Festival illuminations in Dublin. Photo: Fáilte Ireland / Allen Kiely

While traditional New Years festivities were cancelled across the country due to the prevalence of the virus, it didn't stop people marking the occasion. Many still let off fireworks, while some bars and venues simply kick-started their celebrations a few hours earlier due to the 8pm closing times.

And for those stuck at home, Tipperary's Una Healy was on hand to present the New Years Eve countdown on RTÉ, replacing the 2 Johnnies, who had been due to host the New Years Festival before it was cancelled.

Landmark cities forwent pyrotechnics as midnight rolled across the globe, with displays called off at Paris's Arc de Triomphe and London's riverside. In the UK, Big Ben chimed midnight and rang in the New Year for the first time after three-and-a-half years of restoration.

The Pacific island of Tonga was first to ring in the New Year and celebrated at 10am Irish time, followed by New Zealand an hour later. Australia, where new Covid-19 infections have soared again to a record of more than 32,000, welcomed in 2022 with their traditional fireworks display over Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House.

Fireworks over the Sydney Opera House during the New Year's Eve celebrations. Photo: Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images

Elsewhere in Asia, celebrations were mostly scaled-down or called off.

South Korea cancelled their traditional midnight bell-ringing ceremony for the second year, however, North Korea held a fireworks display at Kim Il Sung Square in its capital, Pyongyang.

In Japan, celebrations were banned in Tokyo's Shibuya entertainment district, with the government encouraging mask-wearing and a limit to numbers at parties.

China was on high alert as the city of Xian remained under full lockdown, while other New Year events across the country were cancelled.

A man wears a pair of 2022 glasses on New Year's Eve in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo: AP/Oded Balilty

With just over a month to go until Beijing Winter Olympics, the Chinese government is bracing for any challenge to its zero-Covid strategy.

India saw increased restrictions introduced on December 31 as officials cautioned people against celebrations as the Omicron variant gains a foothold in the country.

Several states including the capital Delhi have imposed 11pm curfews and mask mandates as well as restrictions on the unvaccinated meaning parties and gatherings were all but ruled out.

Dubai rang in 2021 with more than 30 fireworks displays, live music events and drone shows in a number of locations across the city, with local authorities saying precautionary measures were stringently enforced at all activities.