Waiting for the New Year: worries about safety characterize New Year's Eve

Turn of the year - Waiting for the New Year: worries about safety characterize New Year's Eve

The new year 2024 will be welcomed by billions of people on Monday night. In Germany, fears of riots dampened the anticipation of the New Year - especially in Berlin. In Cologne, the police want to keep the world-famous church building tightly secured on New Year's Eve following the terror alert for the cathedral. The situation is tense in Germany's flood regions, with parts of Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt to the south affected.

Doctors, animal welfare and environmental associations had once again called for a ban on firecrackers, while Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) told Bild am Sonntag that he considered a general ban on firecrackers to be disproportionate. "Personally, I'm not a big fan of it because of our dogs, but ultimately everyone should decide for themselves."

The weather is expected to be windy and damp on the last day of the year - but in the hours around midnight it should be mostly dry with temperatures of up to 7 degrees, according to the German Weather Service.

Gaza war exacerbates the situation

After the riots at the turn of the year last year, the Berlin police are facing one of their biggest New Year's Eve operations. The war in Gaza following the terrorist attack on Israel by Islamist Hamas on October 7 has further exacerbated the situation.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced a "crackdown" in the "Tagesspiegel". The security authorities are extremely vigilant and are keeping a close eye on the situation. Nobody wants to see senseless violence, said the SPD politician. The federal government is supporting the Berlin police.

Ever since New Year's Eve 2015/16 in Cologne with numerous sexual assaults on women on the Domplatte, a security debate has repeatedly dominated the days around New Year's Eve.

Berlin

In Berlin, 3000 police officers from the capital and other federal states will be on the streets that night, according to police commissioner Barbara Slowik. A further 1000 officers are on duty in 220 patrol cars and in the 37 police stations. There are also 500 federal police officers at the train stations. The fire department and other aid organizations plan to deploy a total of more than 1,500 personnel. The police have defined three hotspot areas, including North Neukölln. There are also no-fire zones, for example at Alexanderplatz and on part of Sonnenallee. The ban applies from 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve until 6 a.m. on New Year's Day.

Private fireworks are also banned at the Brandenburg Gate, where the traditional New Year's Eve party takes place. For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, there will be a fireworks display there. A new feature this time is an admission fee of ten euros. According to the organizers, 65,000 people can attend. ZDF will once again broadcast the celebration live as a show called "Welcome 2024". It will be hosted by Andrea Kiewel and Johannes B. Kerner.

Cologne

In Cologne, the police want to prepare themselves in such a way that they can counter "possible attacks", said the head of operations. The emergency services will patrol the city with machine guns if necessary. Cathedral provost Guido Assmann felt much safer thanks to the police, as he told WDR television. Mayor Henriette Reker told WDR television that it was appropriate that so many police forces had been deployed.

Before Christmas, security authorities had received information about a possible attack plan by an Islamist group relating to New Year's Eve. Security precautions at Cologne Cathedral had already been increased for the Christmas celebrations. The cathedral was closed to tourists until further notice.

Global

Tighter security measures are also in place in France. Fearing a terrorist attack, the French interior minister announced a strong police presence. 90,000 police officers have been mobilized nationwide, as well as 5,000 soldiers and tens of thousands of firefighters. Since the fatal attack on a teacher by an Islamist in October, France has been on the highest terror alert level. At the beginning of December, an Islamist stabbed a German tourist to death at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend the celebrations on the Champs-Élysées on New Year's Eve.

In Sydney, the celebrations will once again take place at the Opera House, in Dubai at the world's tallest building, in London at the London Eye Ferris wheel, in Rio de Janeiro on Copacabana beach and in New York at Times Square.

It takes 26 hours between 11.00 a.m. CET on December 31 and 1.00 p.m. CET on January 1 for the entire globe to slide into the new year. As a leap year, 2024 will have 366 days.