Pope Francis will skip his typical December 31 visit to the Vatican's life-sized Nativity scene in St Peter's Square and has planned to deliver his New Year's Day blessing indoors, to prevent crowds from gathering.
In Rome, the fireworks will still go up, but customary concerts in public plazas have been cancelled in favour of livestreamed performances and art installations. The Netherlands moved the national countdown from an Amsterdam park to a soccer stadium, where spectators won't be allowed in and pyrotechnics will be replaced with "electric fireworks", AP reported. Police will block off the area so spectators can’t get a glimpse. Vendors’ carts and window displays at the area’s struggling gift shops flaunted few 2021-themed souvenirs as workers set up a stage for a celebration that will unfold this year without the usual throngs of cheering, kissing revelers. There was room to roam on sidewalks that would normally be all but impassable.
Read more here.ĭays ahead of the ball drop in Times Square, it clearly wasn’t New Year’s as usual at the Crossroads of the World. As people and institutions receded behind a mask, and swaddled themselves in PPEs, it also brought home the necessity in the new year of stepping out again - into shared spaces made more precious by being threatened, commons that must now be made larger and more encompassing. In between, the year of the coronavirus saw the very idea and reality of the public sphere become embattled and besieged in new and never-before ways. The anti-CAA protesters were dispersed by the onset of the pandemic but the farmers’ protests have seemed undeterred by the still raging public health emergency - the government sought to paint both as misguided and as a conspiracy but in the latter case has, belatedly but wisely, kept the door open for discussion. 2020 began with people’s sit-ins against a discriminatory citizenship law in open spaces and mohallas across the country it is ending with farmers’ dharnas on the borders of the national capital against laws that have stoked unaddressed anxieties.
It was the year when the people claimed the public space, when barriers were erected in their way, and when a powerful virus sought to push them back into private corners and places. The challenges we face as a nation will not disappear overnight, but as we look forward to the start of a new year, I’m filled with fresh hope about the possibilities of better days to come.Īfter a year of pain and loss, let us unite, heal, and rebuild in 2021. President Donald Trump in a New Year's Eve message reflected on his accomplishments in office, calling them "historic victories," while his successor, President-elect Joe Biden, struck an upbeat tone in looking ahead to 2021.After weeks of vowing to win his fight to remain in office, Republican Trump said in a video posted on Twitter: "We have to be remembered for what's been done.While President Elect Joe Biden paid tribute to healthcare workers and encouraged people to get vaccinated in a brief appearance with his wife, Jill Biden, on ABC news.""I'm absolutely, positively confident - confident - we're going to come back and we're going to come back even stronger than before," said Biden, who takes office on Jan.
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