'I will survive': 2020 slinks into history as fireworks light deserted streets
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Tuesday
February 07, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 07, 2023
'I will survive': 2020 slinks into history as fireworks light deserted streets

World+Biz

Reuters
01 January, 2021, 08:45 am
Last modified: 01 January, 2021, 08:51 am

Related News

  • Dariya-i-Noor: The myth and the mystery of the country’s most precious diamond
  • Chinua Achebe: A writer who dared to reclaim his history
  • People remain indoors as fireworks light the sky to usher in New Year
  • Bajwa’s incorrect interpretation of history
  • "Bangladesher Dushprappo Chobi Somogro": A Facebook group that has become a cultural phenomenon

'I will survive': 2020 slinks into history as fireworks light deserted streets

Good riddance, 2020. Hello, 2021

Reuters
01 January, 2021, 08:45 am
Last modified: 01 January, 2021, 08:51 am
A woman sells a 2021 decoration at a popular entertainment street on New Year's Eve during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
A woman sells a 2021 decoration at a popular entertainment street on New Year's Eve during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

Fireworks soared into the sky above the Sydney Opera House, but the harbour below was a deserted ghost town, a fittingly creepy send-off for a year that will not be missed.

No light show illuminated Beijing from the top of the TV tower. St Peter's in Rome was almost empty for vespers. London's Trafalgar Square, Moscow's Red Square, Madrid's Puerta del Sol and New York's Times Square were all barricaded off.

Good riddance, 2020. Hello, 2021.

While some cities would launch fireworks over empty streets, others, such as London and Singapore, called off their displays. Paris, Rome and Istanbul were under curfew.

New York's countdown ball was set to drop on Broadway. But in place of thousands of people jammed shoulder-to-shoulder in Times Square, the audience would be a few dozen pre-selected key workers - including nurses, doctors, a grocery store worker and a pizza delivery man - their families kept six feet (2 metres) apart in socially distanced pens.

Organisers booked Gloria Gaynor to sing her disco classic "I Will Survive". (Lyrics: "You think I'd crumble? You think I'd lay down and die? Oh no, not I!")

"It's going to be actually, arguably, the most special, the most poignant, the most moving New Year's Eve," Mayor Bill de Blasio, who will push the button to start the crystal's ball descent, told reporters. "In 2021, we're going to show people what it looks like to recover, to come back."

With more than 1.7 million people dead and 82 million infected around the globe since last New Year's Eve - yet hope emerging that new vaccines can help tame the pandemic - the year ended unlike any other in memory.

Angela Merkel, in her 16th New Year's Eve address as German chancellor, said as much: "I think I am not exaggerating when I say: never in the last 15 years have we found the old year so heavy. And never have we, despite all the worries and some scepticism, looked forward to the new one with so much hope."

China's President Xi Jinping said the year's extraordinary hardship had allowed people to demonstrate their resilience: "Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only after polishing can a piece of jade be finer."

'Hell of a year'

In the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic originated a year ago, large crowds took to the streets including a group of hundreds who gathered in front of the old Hankow Customs House building. When its old clock struck midnight many of them cheered and released balloons into the air.

"I'm so so so incredibly happy," said 20-year-old student and tourist Yang Wenxuan. "I hope that (in 2021) I can obtain my bachelor degree and I hope I can find a boyfriend."

There was a heavy police presence and strict crowd control, but the countdown appeared to proceed in a relaxed atmosphere.

In Australia, where Sydney's fireworks annually serve as the world's first big visual display of the new year, gatherings were banned and internal borders shut. Most people were barred from the city's downtown.

"What a hell of a year it's been," said Gladys Berejiklian, premier of New South Wales state, which includes Sydney. "Hopefully 2021 will be easier on all of us."

The virus did not stop North Korea from staging its celebration in Pyongyang. State media showed revellers in face masks filling the main square for a concert and fireworks.

But in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, where Spaniards typically count down to midnight by stuffing grapes into their mouths at each clock strike, police put up barriers to keep people out. Jose Angel Balsa, a 61-year-old retiree, said he would spend the evening "with family, just the four of us at home, holding lots of video calls and hoping for this to end as soon as possible."

In Britain, under ever tighter restrictions to fight a new, more contagious variant of the virus, official billboards instruct the public to "see in the New Year safely at home".

Italy's bars and restaurants were closed, and a curfew imposed for 10 p.m.

The rules prevented the traditional assembly of thousands of Roman Catholic worshippers for New Year's Eve vespers at St Peter's Basilica. Pope Francis cancelled plans to lead the service because of a flare-up of his sciatica, the Vatican said, and a cardinal read the pope's sermon to a small congregation at a secondary altar.

At "A la Ville de Rodez", an upmarket delicatessen in Paris, manager Brice Tapon sent customers home with packages of foie gras, truffles and pate for groups of two or three. Rules forbid more than six adults to gather around the dinner table.

One customer, Anne Chaplin, said she would "stuff myself with foie gras, champagne and all this food."

"And I'll stay home."

Top News

survive / 2020 / History / fireworks

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • A general view shows damaged and collapsed buildings after an earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 6, 2023. Ihlas News Agency (IHA) via REUTERS
    Deaths exceed 4,300 as catastrophic quakes ravage Turkey, Syria
  • 30% cos see double-digit growth even in hard times
    30% cos see double-digit growth even in hard times
  • Each Reverse Osmosi plant can produce approximately 8,000 litres of drinking water a day for around 250 families. Photo: Sadiqur Rahman
    A drop in the ocean of persistent water crisis

MOST VIEWED

  • A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Israeli-owned Amos-17 commercial communications satellite, lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral/ Reuters
    Turkey turns down Musk's offer to send Starlink after deadly earthquake
  • A wooden case holding US dollars bills on display at the Sara-e Shahzada exchange market in Kabul in October 2022.Source: Bloomberg
    Dollars smuggled from Pakistan provide lifeline for the Taliban
  • Photo: Collected
    Indonesia to review its palm oil export quota ratio -ministry
  • FILE PHOTO: A Boeing logo is pictured during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) at Geneva Airport, Switzerland May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
    Boeing says it will cut about 2,000 white-collar jobs in finance and HR
  • Service members of pro-Russian troops ride an armoured personnel carrier during Ukraine-Russia conflict on the outskirts of the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 12, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
    Russian reinforcements pour into eastern Ukraine, says governor
  • A man stands in front of collapsed buildings following an earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 6, 2023. Ihlas News Agency (IHA) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. TURKEY OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN TURKEY.
    Bangladeshi student in Turkey missing after earthquake

Related News

  • Dariya-i-Noor: The myth and the mystery of the country’s most precious diamond
  • Chinua Achebe: A writer who dared to reclaim his history
  • People remain indoors as fireworks light the sky to usher in New Year
  • Bajwa’s incorrect interpretation of history
  • "Bangladesher Dushprappo Chobi Somogro": A Facebook group that has become a cultural phenomenon

Features

Nimah designed by Compass Architects- Wooden tiles. Photo: Junaid Hasan Pranto

Trendy flooring designs to upgrade any space

1h | Habitat
Benefits of having high ceilings in your new home

Benefits of having high ceilings in your new home

40m | Habitat
Each Reverse Osmosi plant can produce approximately 8,000 litres of drinking water a day for around 250 families. Photo: Sadiqur Rahman

A drop in the ocean of persistent water crisis

2h | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Get your partner a lovely present this Valentine's Day

1d | Brands

More Videos from TBS

Who will survive? Adani or Hindenburg?

Who will survive? Adani or Hindenburg?

15h | TBS Stories
James Gunn’s 8-10-year plan for the DC Universe

James Gunn’s 8-10-year plan for the DC Universe

15h | TBS Entertainment
LC issues lead to severe shortage of surgical equipment

LC issues lead to severe shortage of surgical equipment

18h | TBS Insight
Stage plays are going on in the digital age

Stage plays are going on in the digital age

23h | TBS Stories

Most Read

1
Photo: Courtesy
Panorama

From 'Made in Bangladesh' to 'Designed in Bangladesh'

2
Leepu realised his love for cars from a young age and for the last 40 years, he has transformed, designed and customised hundreds of cars. Photo: Collected
Panorama

'I am not crazy about cars anymore': Nizamuddin Awlia Leepu

3
Master plan for futuristic Chattogram city in the making
Districts

Master plan for futuristic Chattogram city in the making

4
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
Economy

IMF approves $4.7 billion loan for Bangladesh, calls for ambitious reforms

5
Belal Ahmed new acting chairman of SIBL
Banking

Belal Ahmed new acting chairman of SIBL

6
Photo: Collected
Crime

Prime Distribution MD Mamun arrested in fraud case

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]