There will be no New Year’s light show with fireworks in 2020 in Prague, Mayor Zdeněk Hřib announced in August.
This is the result of the Czech capital’s commitment to protecting animals and the environment from noise and pollution.
Moreover, the City of Prague has banned the use of pyrotechnics in selected places (such as parks, protected areas, around watercourses, islands, dams, or dikes, at the Prague Zoo) on New Year’s Eve (December 31) and New Year’s celebrations on January 1st.
“New Year’s Eve celebrations will be different than in previous years. If next year the city’s finances allow it, we will be happy to return to video mapping show. But I personally would prefer a drone show,” said Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib.
Last year, Shangai organized a spectacular drone display to mark the start of the new year (even if the company behind the display, Yihang Bailu, admitted that the show was filmed a few days earlier, on 28 December).
The stunning show was filled with nearly 2,000 drones –– all of them forming to make firework designs, a running man and planet figures, 2020, a countdown clock, and Chinese characters.
Prague will not even organize any New Year’s light shows or fireworks this year. “As we explained last year, we want to retreat from fireworks and pyrotechnics as many other modern metropolises do. The aim is to protect animals and the environment from noise, dangerous explosions, and pollution. Entertainment should not cause hardship and harm to others” continued Hřib.
By doing this, the municipality will save about CZK 2 million in its crisis-laden budget.
Several German cities, such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich introduced legislation restricting the use of fireworks last year. Similar motivation led to the fireworks show to be banned in the centre of Amsterdam in 2019.
