Australia New Years Eve fireworks event cancelled amid terror fears

Up to 15,000 attendees had planned to attend the first major New Year’s Eve event to take place in Bondi in more than a decade.

Elrow XXL Bondi and Locals Lawn were the two events set to take place.

The latter was billed as a free, family-friendly event with roaming entertainment, food trucks and early fireworks.

A Waverley Council spokesman confirmed: “Due to the current situation on the ground, Waverley Council has made the decision to cancel New Year’s Eve events at Bondi Beach, including elrow XXL Bondi and Locals Lawn.”

Affected ticket holders will be contacted by event organisers.

With Christmas just a week away, the decision has raised questions as to how other festive events might be affected.

Celebrations will be muted until Sunday, a statement from the City of Sydney confirmed.

“Christmas lights across the city will be replaced with white lights to represent Chanukah, in solidarity with the Jewish community,” it reads.

“This includes the lights at Town Hall, the Martin Place tree, Pitt Street Mall and the QVB awning.

“There will be no light or sound show at any of our trees and the Carols in the City program will not take place this week.”

The Australian city is reeling after Sunday’s mass shooting on Bondi Beach.

British-born Rabbi Eli Schlanger was among 15 killed, while 21 people remain in hospitals across Sydney, including one in a critical condition.

The surviving suspect, Naveed Akram, is now said to be out of a coma, but remains in hospital.

The other suspect, his father Sajid, died at the scene of the attacks.

A funeral has been held today for Mr Schlanger, the first service for a victim of the terror attack. His death was described by one rabbi as an “unspeakable loss”.

In the wake of the killings, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has confirmed he will be calling parliament back next week to deal with “urgent legislation” before Christmas.

Mr Minns said that his government is proposing a bill on gun reform, which might include capping the number of firearms a person is allowed to own and reclassifying straight shotguns.

The premier also said that a protest in Sydney at the moment would “rip our community apart”.

“Right now, a mass demonstration in this combustible situation, with our multicultural community, could light a flame that would be impossible to extinguish,” he said.

He said reforms not to accept applications for protests after terror events are being looked into.