21 Dec, 2016

The biggest New Year’s Eve party in the city is happening at Elder Park

With a hip-shaking line-up of home-grown music, food from around the world, fun kid’s activities and two spectacular fireworks displays, City of Adelaide’s free New Year’s Eve community event in Elder Park will be the ultimate place for families and friends to ring in 2017.

The festive action gets underway on Saturday 31 December from 6pm along the picturesque banks of the River Torrens in the heart of the Riverbank Precinct, with the first fireworks launched at 9pm before the main show lights up the sky at midnight. Both displays will be set to a sensational soundtrack from local favourite, DJ TRIP.

In the lead-up to the fireworks there will be loads of free entertainment to keep the little ones amused with roving performers and a family street theatre program between 7pm and 10.30pm featuring acrobats, jugglers and magicians. This year’s New Year’s Eve event also has an exciting new attraction for the young and young at heart with a fairground open from 6pm featuring a range of fun rides from just $5 a go.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese said the live music program at this year’s event is one of the strongest ever and demonstrates Council’s commitment to providing high-profile performance opportunities for local musicians.

“As a UNESCO City of Music, Adelaide has been globally recognised for its vibrant local music scene and we’ll be celebrating some of our finest home grown talent on New Year’s Eve with seven South Australian acts - from indie/pop to blues and funk - set to hit the Elder Park Rotunda stage throughout the evening,” said Martin.

“Kicking off the program at 7pm will be this year’s Fresh 92.7 The Jump Start competition winner and we’re thrilled that local electronic act Nakatomi has landed that spot, having been selected from another high-calibre list of entries. Nominated for ‘Best New Act’ at this year’s South Australian Music Awards, Nakatomi’s live performance includes synths, drums, bass and vocals and it will be brilliant to see them taking to the stage to get our New Year’s Eve music program started.

“Also performing will be six piece Afro roots funk outfit Local Revolution, the ever-popular Germein Sisters, and the brilliant blues beats of Lazy Eye, winners of the Australian Blues Music Award for Best Group of the Year (2015).

“Enigmatic young newcomer MANE, who took out Best Female Artist and Most Popular Pop Artist at the recent 2016 South Australian Music Awards will also hit the stage, along with the mesmerising Electric Fields featuring the beautiful voice of Zaachariaha Fielding, and of course beats by DJ TRIP.

“On your way to and from the event, be sure not to miss the special New Year’s Eve-themed lighting projections by Illuminart on Adelaide Town Hall. They can be seen every night starting 28 December until 1 January, from 8pm -12am Sunday to Thursday and from 8pm-2am on Friday and Saturday, and will replace the stunning animated Christmas projections currently on display.

“Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Elder Park has become a festive season tradition for many Adelaide families and this year promises to be another brilliant evening of music and entertainment.”

As in the past, ensuring the community has a safe, fun and family-friendly environment in which to celebrate the start of the New Year remains City of Adelaide’s highest priority for the event. While there will be a fantastic selection of food stalls and licensed beer gardens, BYO alcohol will not be permitted and the site will be smoke-free.

The 9pm fireworks will be launched from the River Torrens and Pinky Flat, while the midnight fireworks will be launched from the Riverbank Bridge, River Torrens and Pinky Flat.

The Riverbank footbridge will be closed at times during the event to facilitate the two fireworks displays; this is to ensure safety for the public. The first closure will occur at 8:30pm, with the bridge reopening immediately following the 9pm display at 9:20pm. The bridge will remain open for the exit of the Adelaide Oval Big Bash Cricket crowd and close again at 11pm for the midnight fireworks display, with the bridge open again at 1am.

A number of exclusion zones will be established in Pinky Flat and the Northern Riverbanks well in advance of the fireworks displays, site signage will communicate the times to the public.

A full road closure will be in place from 11am on Saturday 31 December along King William Road between Victoria Drive and North Terrace. Access will be maintained for staff and patrons for the Adelaide Festival Centre show Dusty.

The City of Adelaide’s New Year’s Eve event is proudly supported by major supply partner Novatech Creative Event Technology and supply and media partners Apollo Lighting Service, Carlton & United Breweries, Nine News, and Fresh 92.7.

For more information about the event including the entertainment program, road closure information, parking, transport and details about accessible viewing - visit cityofadelaide.com.au/NYE2016.

Work has started on the first stage of the Festival Plaza upgrade. To help people find their way around the precinct during the construction period a new Adelaide Riverbank smartphone app has been launched.

The app is available FREE at the Apple app store and an Android version is being developed. For more information on the Festival Plaza project visit the Adelaide Riverbank website and follow its progress on Facebook and Instagram.

Paula Stevens