ABC is being criticized for making its 9pm New Year’s Eve show all about ‘Invasion Day’ with ‘woke’ Aboriginal rapper – as disappointed parents ask: ‘Where are the Bluey fireworks for kids?’
The ABC was widely criticized for covering Australia’s iconic New Year’s Eve celebrations on ‘Invasion Day’ at 9pm.
The 9pm fireworks display is usually known as the fireworks for children, many of whom won’t be awake at midnight for the main event.
The ABC show featured rapper Nooky speaking to host Zan Rowe about celebrating Indigenous Australians before playing a pre-recorded package narrated by him.
Fed-up Aussies took to social media on Sunday evening to express their frustrations with the national broadcaster’s reporting.
“My lord the ABC coverage of the fireworks is so s****,” someone wrote on X.
‘Why is everything so woke… just play some pop music and show the fireworks’.
“Put on the ABC for the first time this year (big mistake) to watch the early fireworks with irrelevant music swamping and drowning out the images,” said another.
‘Footage that focused too much on referendum-style messages on the pillars of the Sydney Harbor Bridge’.
“To be honest I think the kids would have preferred to just see Bluey fireworks,” a third added.
The 9pm fireworks display in Sydney is known as the Calling Country fireworks and is presented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists through music, dance and art, with a Welcome to Country ceremony preceding the exhibition.
A smoking ceremony took place on the boats Tribal Warrior, Mari Nawi and Wirawi from 7.30 pm.
Impressive projections and lighting effects illuminated the Sydney Harbor Bridge from 8:30 PM, paying special tribute to the Opera House’s 50th anniversary.
The main fireworks will be launched at midnight from the Sydney Harbor Bridge, Sydney Opera House, ships and city buildings.
More than 8.5 tonnes of fireworks are planned for the 9pm and 12pm displays, with a crew of 60 and more than 11km of cable required for the event.
Some of Sydney’s most iconic viewing points for the infamous New Year’s Eve fireworks were already packed on Sunday morning after crowds gathered in the early hours.
More than a million people are expected to flood the port city on Sunday, with viewing areas at Mrs Macquarie’s Point, the Royal Botanic Garden, the Domain and the Opera House expected to be full by 11.20am.
The high numbers are prompting NSW Transport to implement extra train and bus services in and around the city, with 1000 trains expected to run through the area well into the night.
Thousands of people began gathering around the city as early as 5 a.m. in the hope of getting a front row seat.
A group of men had been queuing at the Domain for three days when the queue started moving to let people into the Royal Botanic Gardens just before 8am.
People had also been queuing at the Opera House since midnight, with footage showing crowds rushing to the gate at the harbor for a good view.
Meanwhile, others set up tents on Cockatoo Island and camped there overnight.
Eleven of the 49 viewing points for the fireworks were sold out after going through a voting system to check numbers.
This year has also seen a change, with port locations offering free entry after the NSW Government scrapped the existing ticketing system.
As for the weather, the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting showers, but it is expected to be only light and no real heavy showers are expected to dampen things down.
For the fireworks at midnight, the temperature is expected to be 21°C with some cloud and perhaps a shower, but this is certainly not expected to dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm.