HONG KONG — In a departure from tradition, Hong Kong will welcome 2026 without the usual grand fireworks display over Victoria Harbor, a customary highlight of the New Year festivities.
This change comes in the aftermath of a devastating fire in November that claimed the lives of at least 161 people, prompting a shift in the celebration’s format.
Instead of fireworks, the city’s tourism board has organized a music show set for Wednesday night. The event will feature performances by the soft rock duo Air Supply, along with other artists, in Central, the bustling business district known for its popular nightlife area, Lan Kwai Fong.
Adding to the evening’s spectacle, the facades of eight notable landmarks will transform into massive countdown clocks, culminating in a captivating three-minute light show as the clock strikes midnight.
Fireworks have traditionally been a staple of Hong Kong’s celebrations, marking occasions such as the New Year, Lunar New Year, and National Day.
The pyrotechnic displays against Hong Kong’s world-famous skyline of skyscrapers typically draw hundreds of thousands of people, including many tourists, to both sides of the promenade.
Hotels and restaurants likely affected
Rosanna Law, the territory’s secretary for culture, sports, and tourism, acknowledged Tuesday that having no fireworks would affect some hotel and restaurant businesses.
Annie Wang, a tourist from Shanghai, said that although she had planned to watch the fireworks show, she understood the city’s decision because she found news of the blaze heart-wrenching.
“It’s quite regretful. But there’s no way around it after the fire,” said Wang, a university student.
Wang Miao, a teacher from the neighboring economic hub of Guangzhou, planned to join the official countdown activities in Central despite the absence of fireworks.
She said it was a pity that she could not see pyrotechnics, but she could understand why.
“It doesn’t affect our experience in Hong Kong,” Wang said.
By early Wednesday evening, crowds of revelers had already gathered near the performance stage in Central, hoping to secure the best views of the musical performance.
Worst fire since the 1940s for Hong Kong
The financial hub’s worst blaze since 1948 broke out at Wang Fuk Court, in the northern suburban district of Tai Po, in late November.
The apartment complex was undergoing a monthslong renovation project with buildings covered by bamboo scaffolding and green netting.
Authorities have pointed to the substandard netting and foam boards installed on windows as contributing factors in the fire’s rapid spread.
Thousands of affected residents have moved to transitional homes, hotels, and youth hostels, struggling to recover from the loss of lives and homes that took them years to buy.
The casualties pained many residents across the city.
Past tragedies in Hong Kong have forced similar cancellations of fireworks.
They include the 2013 National Day festivities following a vessel collision that killed 39 people on Oct. 1, 2012, and the 2018 Lunar New Year celebration after a bus crash that left 19 dead.
During the 2019 anti-government protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple displays were also scrapped.
The origin of fireworks is believed to date to China in the second century B.C., when someone discovered bamboo stalks exploded with loud bangs when thrown into fire, creating the first natural “firecrackers,” according to the American Pyrotechnics Association, a U.S. trade group.
The Guinness World Records organization says the first accurately documented firework, the Chinese firecracker, was created by Li Tian, a monk from China’s Tang dynasty, dating to around 618 to 907 C.E.
Li discovered that putting gunpowder in enclosed hollow bamboo stems created loud explosions and bound crackers together to create the traditional New Year firecrackers to drive out evil spirits, Guinness said.