Fireworks Extravaganza Draws Over 479,000 Spectators in Record-breaking New Year's Eve Celebrations

Hong Kong celebrated the arrival of 2024 with a spectacular event organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Building on the success of previous New Year's Eve countdowns, the "Hong Kong New Year Countdown" fireworks and music extravaganza took place on December 31. Despite the warm weather, a large crowd of residents and tourists gathered early in the morning to secure the best viewing spots. Approximately 479,000 people lined both sides of Victoria Harbour to witness the impressive fireworks display.

The Tourism Board proudly claimed that this year's countdown fireworks show was the biggest and most elaborate in history, lasting an incredible 12 minutes. Spanning a distance of 1.3 kilometers, the fireworks illuminated the sky from Central to North Point across Victoria Harbour. The theme of the display was "New Year, New Legends," and it consisted of five acts inspired by the changing seasons. The grand finale featured heart-shaped and laughter-themed fireworks, symbolizing love and joy.

To prepare for the event, the Tourism Board meticulously created a computer-generated simulation of the 16 fireworks sequences, starting with vibrant Christmas colors and ending with heart and laughter motifs. As the afternoon approached, crowds gathered along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, making navigation through the area challenging. Many attendees chose to sit on the ground, eagerly awaiting the start of the show. Some locals and first-time visitors from Shenzhen noted the increased presence of mainland Chinese tourists, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Chan, a Hong Kong resident, arrived early in the morning at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront with a group of friends to secure a prime viewing spot. In previous years, they would set up their tripods and cameras after lunch, but this year's larger-scale event prompted them to arrive at 10 a.m. and wait until the evening for the performance to begin. They planned to take turns resting and having meals during the day.

烟花盛宴吸引了超过 479,000 名观众参加破纪录的除夕庆祝活动

香港於2023年告別，並盛大迎接2024年的到來。繼2018年新年倒數活動的成功後，香港旅遊發展局在12月31日晚上舉辦了備受期待的「香港新年倒數煙花音樂盛典」。

儘管天氣暖和，沒有下雨，但大批渴望觀賞煙花的市民和遊客早早來到指定區域爭奪最佳觀賞位置。據警方介紹，超過479,000人聚集在維多利亞港兩岸，目睹了這場令人驚嘆的奇觀。

旅遊發展局自豪地宣稱，今年的倒數煙花表演是有史以來最大最精心策劃的，持續了驚人的12分鐘。

這次新年倒數煙花音樂盛典跨越了壯觀的1.3公里，從中環一直延伸到北角橫跨維多利亞港。煙花表演的主題是「新年，新傳奇」，分為五個部分，靈感來自季節的變化。壯觀的結局呈現了一系列心形和笑聲主題的煙花，象徵著愛和喜悅。

旅遊發展局精心製作了一個由電腦生成的模擬，展示了16個煙花序列，從聖誕節的繽紛色彩開始，以心形和笑聲的圖案結束。隨著下午的到來，人群開始在尖沙咀海濱聚集，使得該區域的行走變得越來越困難。許多當地人和遊客選擇坐在地上，熱切地等待表演的開始。一些久未目睹煙花表演的參觀者注意到，來自內地的遊客明顯增加，為節日增添了熱鬧氛圍。深圳的首次來港遊客對現場煙花表演的壯麗感到驚嘆。

陳先生是香港的居民，他和十多位朋友早早來到尖沙咀海濱，以確保觀賞活動的最佳位置。他提到，過去幾年他們總是在午餐後才架設攝影三腳架和相機。然而，由於今年活動規模更大，他們在上午10點左右就到了這個「戰略位置」，計劃等到晚上表演開始。他們還計劃輪流休息和進餐。