New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney have all but fizzled out thanks to harsh restrictions brought in to stamp out the growing Covid outbreak.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged residents to stay home this year after the state recorded 18 new cases on Wednesday, taking the total active cases to 160.
Venues with harbour views, which are usually brimming with glamorous tourists, have been hit with dozens of cancellations as a result.
Hours before Sydney began preparations to ring in the New Year, new rules were brought in to limit crowds and contact, after another worrying cluster sprung up in the city's Inner West - with no known links to the Northern Beaches.
A sign warning Sydney Opera House forecourt in Sydney will be closed for New Years Eve setup (pictured, on Tuesday)
Cafe Sydney , near Customs House, had a sold out event but when the Northern Beaches cluster appeared in mid-December the calls to cancel started coming it
Buckley's bar near the Opera House has been forced to completely cancel its event because demand was so low after it was named as a venue visited by a Covid case. Premium outdoor spots were going for $595
New South Wales hadn't suffered a big coronavirus outbreak since July before new cases started popping up in the Northern Beaches in early December.
One venue, Cafe Sydney, near Customs House, had a sold out event but when the Northern Beaches cluster appeared in mid-December the calls to cancel started coming it.
'Then we lost half the bookings,' general manager Todd Cummins told the Sydney Morning Herald.
'It has hit us hard.'
The venue had already slashed the price of its New Year's Eve event from $1000-a-head to $800, causing more pain for the bottom line after a tumultuous year for the industry.
Restaurants and bars on the waterfront, which are heavily reliant on tourists, have suffered for months due to the lockdown in March and travel bans.
Buckley's bar near the Opera House has been forced to completely cancel its event because demand was so low. Premium outdoor spots were going for $595.
Owner Damian O'Reilly made the tough decision to keep the doors closed on Thursday after discovering a patron who dined at the venue on December 17 had tested positive for the virus.
North Sydney, the Inner West, Hunters Hill and Woollahra councils will also close other vantage points that sit outside of the permit zone - with a heavy police presence on patrol to stop spontaneous gatherings
Security fencing begins to be positioned at McMahons Point to prevent residents gathering for the celebration
Warning signs flash on a digital display in the suburb of Milson's Point ahead of this year's firework display
Security fencing is set up in the suburb of Milson's Point ahead of this year's firework display
Due to Covid, celebrations have been changed, with multiple parks close to prevent gatherings and ensure social distancing
Eastern suburbs parks close for NYE:
The following parks / beaches will be closed from 5pm:
Dudley Page Reserve (Dover Heights)
Caffyn Park (Dover Heights)
Rose Bay Beach / Foreshore (Fernleigh stairs, Caledonian Road, Percival Park, Tingira Park)
Dumaresq Reserve (Rose Bay)
Biddigal Reserve (Bondi Beach)
Duff Reserve (Point Piper)
Seven Shillings Beach (Point Piper)
Redleaf Beach (Double Bay)
McKell Park (Darling Point)
Yarranabbe Park (Darling Point)
Rushcutters Bay Park (Darling Point)
Other regulated / heavily patrolled areas:
Bronte Beach (Seated areas to be closed off) - Beach & grassed areas to be patrolled by police to limit gatherings & enforce alcohol consumption bans.
Bondi Beach patrolled by police to limit gatherings & enforce alcohol consumption bans.
Beaches & parks across the eastern beaches to be patrolled by police to limit gatherings & enforce alcohol consumption bans.
'When we had the Northern Beaches cluster announcement, it was basically game over at that point,' he said.
Due to the concerning increase in mystery cases, Premier Berejiklian has reintroduced the 4 square metres rule, tightened from the 2 square metre rule, limiting the number of customers each venue can have.
The midnight celebration will be a very different affair this year with access to the Sydney Harbour foreshore for the fireworks will be banned, the city centre will be off-limits to all but residents and those with existing bookings at restaurtants and pubs.
A previous plan to give prime viewing spots to emergency workers who were involved in fighting the bushfires last summer has been abandoned.
From 5pm on Thursday, only residents with bookings at restaurants or hotels under a permit system will be allowed to enter popular fireworks vantage points in the CBD and lower north shore, including Circular Quay and Milsons Point.
North Sydney, the Inner West, Hunters Hill and Woollahra councils will also close other vantage points that sit outside of the permit zone - with a heavy police presence on patrol to stop spontaneous gatherings.
The state government is telling people to stay at home and watch the shortened seven-minute show at midnight to usher in 2021 on television.
Ms Berejiklian urged partygoers to be sensible, avoid large gatherings and locking lips with strangers.
'When the clock ticks over to midnight from December 31 January 1, I know that's normally an emotional time where we like to kiss and hug everybody around us. Can I ask for absolute restraint,' she said.
Household parties will be limited to just five visitors - including children - in Greater Sydney including Wollongong, Central Coast and the Blue Mountains. The previous restrictions were 10 per household.
Outdoor gatherings have been cut from 50 people down to 30.
Crowds swelled throughout the day last year near Sydney's Harbour Bridge in a desperate attempt to get a good vantage point to watch the city's New Year's Eve fireworks
New year's Eve celebrations in the city was a festive affair with revellers seen dancing in the street
Revellers queued up for more than 24 hours to get a glimpse of Sydney's world-famous New Year's Eve firework display last year
Most of Sydney's ticketed fireworks venues sold out weeks before the event last year, with revellers forced to camp out at Circular Quay in hopes of seeing the fireworks
The fireworks display (pictured 2018 fireworks) is usually seen by one billion people across the world
Residents in the Northern Beaches - the epicentre of the current outbreak - will have to kick off 2021 at home after NSW authorities extended stay-at-home orders.
But things are very different in neighbouring states, with unlimited parties allowed in Australian Capital Territory and 50 allowed on a dancefloor in Victoria.
However Melbourne has cancelled its fireworks display centred on the Yarra River between the CBD and Southbank.
Instead the city will host a 'Street Feasts' event in which much of the CBD will be turned into a series of outdoor dining zones on Thursday and Friday.
For Queensland, house parties of up to 50 are allowed and in Western Australia firework displays are going ahead as normal.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SYDNEY'S NEW YEAR'S EVE RESTRICTIONS
Greater Sydney including Wollongong, Central Coast and the Blue Mountains:
Northern Beaches (Southern Zone):
Northern Beaches (Northern Zone):
