2020 has been a bleak year for many – and there are many indications that the end of the year will not be very festive either. In several places in the country, official New Year's celebrations are being canceled to avoid crowds and hopefully slow the spread of the virus.
But at Skansen, the tradition is kept alive – at least for the television audience.
At the open-air museum Skansen, which has been hit hard financially by declining visitor numbers in the wake of the corona pandemic, they have now decided, after some hesitation, to celebrate the stroke of midnight in the same way as every New Year since 1977. Although not quite as traditionally as they had wished.
– There will be musical entertainment with an orchestra from Solliden and ”Ring, bell, ring” just as usual. But unfortunately this year it will have to take place without an audience in place, says Yvonne Nordlind, Marketing and Communications Manager at Skansen.
Poem reciter to be revealed later
On a ”normal” New Year’s Eve, crowds of New Year’s Eve celebrants crowd in front of the Solliden stage to ring in the new year together. This year, it will probably only be staff who are involved in the television broadcast in various ways.
– The program, as well as who will read Tennyson's poem "The New Year's Clock", will be revealed later this fall, says SVT's producer Haida Jamshidi.
However, the TV images of the fireworks over Stockholm risk being somewhat less spectacular than usual, as the official festivities in the capital have been cancelled. The midnight celebrations in Västerås, Varberg and Eskilstuna have also been cancelled, according to Sveriges Radio P4.
Rockets in the afternoon
There has been no official celebration of the stroke of midnight in Gothenburg since 2017, when the one that used to be held at Götaplatsen was canceled due to drunkenness and uncontrolled rocket firing. There is much evidence that the fireworks display that Göteborgsposten usually sets off over the Göta River at 5 p.m., and which usually attracts large crowds, will also be canceled this year. The decision was reportedly made after consultation with the Västra Götaland Health Department.
The city of Malmö, which in 2019 greeted the new year with fireworks at both Nyhamnen and Stortorget, has not yet decided what it will be like this year.
Private events
Unless the spread of the infection stops, private New Year's celebrations will not be able to take place as usual when 2021 is welcomed.
This is what the Public Health Agency's unit head Sara Byfors says about the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations:
– You have to aim for it to be in a smaller group. The general advice that applies to the entire country, to refrain from social gatherings, will definitely apply.
Source: svt.se
