While there's still hours to go till midnight, crowds are already massing along the harbour shoreline to secure the best spot for tonight's New Years Eve fireworks.
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00:00 People have really started to settle in now here at Mrs. Macquarie's Point, claiming a
00:07 premium spot on the grass at this premium vantage point.
00:11 As you can see, people are really starting to enjoy themselves.
00:15 The food trucks are very popular and of course people have started playing music on their
00:21 speakers as well.
00:22 It has been a long wait for a lot of people who are here.
00:26 Some of them have been camping out since the 29th of December while others waited overnight
00:31 through the rain and put up tents and tarpaulins as well to get through last night.
00:37 But we did see at the gate opening at 10 o'clock earlier a lot of people sprinting to get here
00:43 to claim a spot on the grass.
00:45 But hopefully that wait was worth it for these people.
00:48 And we spoke to people from all over the world who've come because this is a bucket list
00:52 item for them.
00:53 This is a little bit of what they had to say.
00:55 I'm feeling so excited, I can't wait.
00:57 It's like, been on my bucket list for the last 10 years so I'm really excited for the
01:00 fireworks.
01:01 I've been waiting here since 7am and I think people are here since last night because yesterday
01:08 we came.
01:09 I heard people queue up in the morning and yeah, it's true, I watched it.
01:13 We've been here from like 7am so yeah, but finally we are here, happy to be here.
01:18 I've been here since 6am, excited to see some fireworks, hope I have a good spot.
01:24 My foot's a bit sore, a bit injured, but run, run for it.
01:29 More than a million people are expected to flock to the Harbour shoreline to see the
01:33 fireworks go off at midnight tonight.
01:36 But people have been advised to get in early and that's because this year there are fewer
01:40 ticketed options available and the ones that are ticketed are already sold out.
01:45 So at the moment the best vantage points are operating on a first come, first serve basis
01:51 with capacity limits in place and vantage points like this one here at Mrs Macquarie's
01:55 Point are already at capacity and full.
01:59 Drivers in Sydney are also being warned to try not to venture out into the city tonight
02:03 because there are significant road closures in place.
02:07 There are also extra buses, trains and security out in force tonight.
02:13 Transport officials say an extra 1,000 trains are running today as well as 1,200 buses so
02:18 hopefully things will be running smoothly on the transport front.
02:22 New South Wales Police say that today is their biggest operation of the year and this is
02:27 a little bit of what Superintendent Anthony Bell had to say earlier.
02:31 Our message is simple.
02:33 Police, security officers and rangers are everywhere.
02:36 If your intention is to come in and play up, cause disruption to others, you will be removed
02:42 from your area and you may be arrested.
02:44 A successful night stems from everyone doing the right thing and enjoying the night, letting
02:51 others enjoy the night and having the patience to understand that there are big crowds and
02:56 with big crowds, you know, it does slow things down.
02:59 Vantage points like this one here at Mrs Macquarie's Point are very special because you can see
03:05 the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House quite close together at a close distance so it is
03:11 one of the premium vantage points on the Harbour to see the fireworks go off at midnight and
03:17 people here are so excited to be ringing in the new year here.
03:21 It is a bucket list item for a lot of people and Sydney-siders may often take it for granted
03:26 because we're here every year but we've spoken to people this morning from places like Germany,
03:32 the Netherlands, China, Denmark and Ireland so people have come from all over the world
03:37 to see this spectacular view when those fireworks go off at midnight so it is a special time
03:43 of year to be here in Sydney, one of the best places in the world to send off 2023 and welcome
03:49 in 2024.
03:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]