It is the logical consequence of the corona infection and the building up Omikron wave: After the cancellation last year, there will be no urban fireworks in the city this year. “There will also be no event on the main square,” says SP Mayor Klaus Luger.
Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein has already announced that the corona rules for unvaccinated people will be relaxed at Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but the city of Linz is still playing it safe. “Even if it is of course a shame and I personally would prefer it to be otherwise, it would not be responsible if we lure thousands of people to the main square. The epidemiological situation is too dangerous for that,” says city chief Luger.
Digital alternative for children
So that at least the children don’t have to miss out on a colorful turn of the year, they can – as reported – design fireworks in cooperation with CoderDojo and AEC using Minecraft, Scratch or Java. The details of the workshops and online tutorials can be found at linz.coderdojo.net. The children can send films or photos of their digital fireworks by December 31st to innovation@mag.linz.at, from which a fireworks film is then put together, which – if the number of infections allows it again – will be shown in the AEC.
Not only do the fireworks fall back into the water at the turn of the year, but also the New Year’s reception in the old town hall, which was traditional until before Corona. However, a replacement is currently being sought for this. “We are considering whether we can do the reception in late spring or in June,” reveals Luger, “then some of the reception could also take place outside.” The premises or the outdoor areas would be given by the town hall.
In any case, the town hall is currently busy thinking about how to hold the traditional meeting in the coming year. The prerequisite for this, however, is that events of this size can be admitted without fixed seats.
Source: Nachrichten
