Tauranga City Council, New Zealand Police and other key organisations will continue to work together towards a safer environment for Tauranga’s residents and visitors on New Year’s Eve. Council will carry on with the successfully implemented changes from 2016 for New Year’s Eve 2017/18 and will be working with the commercial sector to add to the New Year’s Eve offering across the city.
The elements of this year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations in Tauranga will focus on creating a safe and enjoyable family-friendly New Year’s Eve across the city. An early evening, family-friendly, central city waterfront event including a 9.30pm fireworks display; a midnight fireworks display as well as a small-scale, indoor youth event will be part of the celebrations. Council will pursue supporting one of the busiest nights in the city with coordinated, advanced planning and an enhanced city and emergency services response on the night itself.
To enable Tauranga’s residents and visitors to celebrate an enjoyable start to the New Year, Council will build on a successful New Year’s Eve 2016 and keep on working alongside NZ Police and other key organisations. Enhanced emergency services and safety measures such as traffic management, security, temporary fencing and lighting will be put in place again to work towards a safer place for our communities to celebrate the New Year.
Mayor Greg Brownless is confident a citywide and safety-focussed take on New Year’s Eve is the way to go for Tauranga’s future.
“Last year’s family-friendly approach has proven we’re on the right track with many enjoying the early waterfront celebrations and the traditional midnight fireworks,” Mr Brownless says.
“Our focus is on creating a family-friendly, community-focused New Year’s Eve atmosphere that can be enjoyed and celebrated by all in a safe way.”
Council will also be working with the commercial sector to encourage user-paid activities within private, purpose-built venues that add to the New Year’s Eve offering already taking place across Tauranga.
How New Year’s Eve will look in the future is yet to be determined. All strategic decisions will be based on building a safe environment for the city’s visitors and residents on what is traditionally, a very busy night. This will be assessed and determined over time, however, the new approach was successfully implemented in 2016 and will be carried on this year.