Light display to replace fireworks on New Year’s eve

The New Year fireworks display will be replaced with a light and laser display, the Gibraltar Government has announced. 

The move comes as the Government looks to make events towards the end of the year as low-risk as possible in the context of the ongoing Covid crisis. 

But the decision actually reflects attempts to contribute to redressing another emergency - climate change. 

Speaking on Monday, the Minister for the Environment Dr John Cortes said: “We’re also looking at the event to welcome the New Year and what form that can take, depending of course on where we are with Covid at the time.” 

“One thing that I can say about the New Year celebrations is that the fireworks display will for the first time be replaced with a light and laser display which will contain no explosions and result in no emissions,” he said. 

“We cannot let Covid make us forget that other emergency, the Climate Emergency.” 

On the same day the Government confirmed that the organisation, production and staging of this year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations had been awarded to Gibmedia.

Gibraltar Cultural Services said it will be working closely with Gibmedia in order to provide an entertaining low-risk event, appropriate to the Covid -19 situation that may be in place at the time. 

The annual event will be held on Thursday December 31, 2020 and is currently planned to be held in Grand Casemates Square, once again, depending on the status of the pandemic in Gibraltar. 

The full programme of events will be released in November but it is possible that the event may be cancelled if the Covid -19 issues have not yet been satisfactorily resolved.