Austria’s largest New Year’s Eve celebration, the Vienna New Year’s Eve Trail, ended at 2 a.m. on Sunday night. A total of around 800,000 people visited the area in downtown Vienna after the two-year Corona break, the city of Vienna Marketing GmbH announced. According to the police, the event passed without any significant incidents. In Vienna-Floridsdorf, on the other hand, young people threw firecrackers at police officers. Three people were arrested.
A total of 260 people were identified during the official act in the Mitterhofersiedlung, and 70 people were reported. In addition, 20 kilograms of pyrotechnics were confiscated, including 250 items in the highest category F4, according to the police.
According to the Pyrotechnics Act, proof of specialist knowledge is required for the possession and use of category F4 pyrotechnic objects. This requires either a relevant trade license, successful completion of a pyrotechnics course or appropriate expertise, which the authority must be able to demonstrate credibly.
The approximately one and a half kilometer long New Year’s Eve path in downtown Vienna was opened at 2 p.m., 45 minutes before midnight the area was fully occupied. Six stages on Freyung, Hof, Graben, Stephansplatz, Kärntner Straße and Neuer Markt attracted visitors. There was a waltz orchestra, dance lessons, oldies and a children’s program. Almost 30 catering units spoiled with food and drinks.
The great exuberance was not noticeable in the last two hours of 2022, which was probably saved for 2023. Instead, people strolled about 200 meters in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, took a few photos with their smartphones and consumed drinks. For the time being, no firecrackers were fired either, as was the case outside the New Year’s Trail zone during daylight hours. A little louder was only a younger gentleman in the center of Vienna, who had apparently lost sight of his companion and therefore called her name.
The sounds at Stephansplatz were wilder, “Hit The Road Jack” rang out from the stage there and the number of visitors increased the closer they got to “Steffl”, the speed decreased and a “Na Servas” or “Hoppala” escaped many , if he touched his counterpart because of it. It also became narrower on Kärntner Strasse, where a police presence was present near a fish restaurant.
The town hall square was not used this year, according to the organizers, this was not possible from an organizational point of view between the Christmas market and the ice dream. There will be no big fireworks “for the sake of the environment, the many animals in the city and also the people”, according to Paul Weis, Managing Director of the City of Vienna Marketing, to the ORF.
Last checks, final sound checks and final preparations were successfully completed in the morning. Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) and Vienna’s state police chief Gerhard Pürstl visited the control center of the emergency services and organizers and took part in the last briefing.
Pürstl had previously announced zero tolerance for rioters. A traffic light and electronic information system is designed to protect against crowds. “The New Year’s Eve Trail in Vienna is a major event with a particular focus on safety,” said Ludwig, thanking the employees “in front of and behind the scenes”.
After the end of the event, the Vienna police said that the night had passed quietly in the city center, but a balance sheet is not expected until the morning of New Year’s Day.
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Source: Nachrichten
