NSW: Sydney rings in 2009 with a creation storm
01 Jan 2009 2:30 AM
More than a million revellers have ushered in 2009 in Sydney .. watching in wonder as spectacular bursts of fireworks lit up the night sky .. culminating in a giant glowing sun on the iconic Harbour Bridge.
With a theme of Creation .. the event was 15 months in the making .. with a dazzling array of more than 100-thousand individual pyrotechnics firing from the bridge .. six barges around the harbour and the top of several skyscrapers.
A golden waterfall appeared to flow from the bottom deck of the bridge as the effect .. kept top-secret until midnight .. changed shapes from a star to a spinning wheel to a flower before being revealed as a glowing sun.
The 12-minute spectacular is considered one of the best in the world .. attracting more people on New Year's Eve than Times Square in New York or celebrations in London.
It cost five million dollars .. but Sydney Lord Mayor CLOVER MOORE says the event will inject more than 40 million into the local economy.
Police say revellers are in a positive mood .. with no major incidents reported so far.
The NSW Ambulance Service says paramedics responded to 400 calls between 6 and 10pm in Sydney .. while there were 350 calls in the same time period in other areas of the state.
