EN 
EL 
Celebrations were canceled, music was banned, the revue was limited to a close family circle: the world enters the third year of the pandemic in 2022, with cases having skyrocketed, but also with some signs of hope fading.
The islands of Kiribati, in the Pacific, were the first country in the world to welcome the new year, exactly at 12 noon, Greek time.
In Sydney, the self-proclaimed "New Year's Eve capital of the world", a small crowd had gathered on the harbor to watch the spectacular fireworks display, as it does every year. A few thousand were able to attend this year, although the crowd usually exceeds 1 million. "I'm trying to focus on the positive things that happened, rather than the negative," commented Melinda Howard, a 22-year-old medical student, who was watching the spectacle outside the Opera House.
In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai is also planning a fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. The Emirate will try again this year to break the record for the biggest fireworks display of all time.
But from Seoul to San Francisco, celebrations have been very limited or, in some cases, non-existent. Due to the Omicron variant, the new year was ushered in quietly, without fireworks, in Auckland, New Zealand.
In South Korea, the traditional bell ringing at midnight has been canceled for the second year in a row. In Tokyo's Shibuya district, celebrations were canceled and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged his countrymen to wear masks and limit the number of party guests.
China, the country where cases of the new coronavirus were first detected at the end of 2019, remains on high alert. The city of Xi'an has been placed on lockdown and celebrations in other cities have been cancelled.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, police blocked off 11 streets where large crowds usually gather for the New Year. Malaysia banned gatherings and canceled the fireworks show at the Petronas Twin Towers.
North Korea, however, announced that a fireworks show was planned for Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square.
The new year in Russia started from Vladivostok
Residents of the regions of the Russian Far East were the first in Russia to say goodbye to 2021 and welcome 2022. In the easternmost regions of Russia, Kamchatka and Chukotka, they welcomed the New Year when it was 15:00 in Moscow (14:00 Greek time ), while in the westernmost region of the Far Eastern Federal District, Buryatia, they welcomed the New Year at 19:00 Moscow time (18:00 Greek time).
This year, the weather conditions as well as the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic brought changes to the festive program. So some cities decided not to hold big celebrations, such as the city of Ulan-Ude which decided to celebrate on December 30 and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on January 1.
"The opening of the Christmas tree on the Square of Soviets in the city of Ulan-Ude, accompanied by fireworks, took place on December 30. The artists prepared a theatrical performance entitled "Miracles in the New Year", games and quizzes, while the children were welcomed by Father Frost (aka the Russian Santa Claus). Today the residents of the republic of Buryatia and the city of Ulan-Ude are celebrating the New Year at home, with their loved ones," the regional government told TASS.
This year in the Square of Soviets in Ulan-Ude, a 27-meter-high ice sculpture with slides and 40 illuminated ice sculptures, including 12 animal sculptures from the Far East calendar, among them the symbol of the coming year, was created. where is the tiger
New Year's night in Vladivostok was very cold, frozen, but this did not affect the celebrations as residents of the capital of Primorye skated on the ice rink in the center of the city, enjoying the evening with puppet shows, light shows, DJ presence and colorful fireworks that lit up the frozen sky. On the evening of December 31, the square became a part of this whole setting, which was enriched by a fairy-tale performance given for the triumph of the holiday spirit, entitled "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky the night of December 31 to January 1 was a night of strong winds, as a Pacific cyclone began to affect the Kamchatka region from today Friday. Due to the worsening weather, the planned festivities for January 1, including the New Year's fireworks, have been postponed. Residents welcomed the new year in their homes with their families and friends.
In the South Sakhalin region, the pandemic caused the first cancellation of the New Year's celebration around the central Christmas tree, but residents and visitors to the island center were able to watch the fireworks from various parts of the city. Many residents decided not to stay in their homes but to go out and take their walk. The people of Magadan did the same. However, even on New Year's Eve there were no festive events on the streets of the city as the temperature in Magadan at night reached -20 degrees Celsius.
In the capital of Russia's largest region, Yakutsk, they celebrated the New Year traditionally with fireworks on Lenin Square. However, as the local government announced, there were no mass celebrations due to the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, but also for the safety of the residents as on January 1 the temperature in Yakutsk reached -50 degrees Celsius.
Source: www.amna.gr
