New Year’s Eve in Prague on January 1, 2022, will not be celebrated with fireworks or video mapping. Due to the worsening situation regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, the city council has decided not to hold any public events. This was announced on Tuesday by Vít Hofman, spokesman for the Prague City Hall.
“We didn’t plan fireworks this year either, but we did consider alternative ways of welcoming the New Year. We were waiting to see how the epidemic situation and anti-epidemic measures would develop. Given the current situation, we have abandoned our thoughtful activities, “said Hofman.
Due to the current epidemic situation and the restrictions, the municipality is not planning any New Year’s public celebrations. “We would not be able to guarantee the safety of the visitors at such an event concerning the transmission of disease, and it would be difficult to ensure the spacing between the spectators,” Hofman added.
The city has traditionally welcomed the new year with fireworks on January 1, which has been replaced by projections on buildings (video mapping) starting January 1, 2020. According to the city officials, this alternative way of celebrating New Year’s Eve does not carry negative consequences such as noise or stress for animals.
Last year, there were no public events to celebrate New Year’s Eve due to the pandemic. In 2020 New Year’s Eve was celebrated by video mapping, while Prague 2 hosted a fireworks show without the support of the city authorities.