With just a few days away reports are confirming that, in Las Vegas at least, New Years Eve celebrations are going full speed ahead despite concerns of rising pandemic numbers.
Places like Times Square in New York City are drastically cutting back crowd sizes. However it seems Las Vegas officials are comfortable with current plans. This is in part because of the vast area of Las Vegas New Years Eve celebrations. Although 300,000 visitors are expected New Years Eve, most will be on The Strip tourist corridor, a 4-mile long stretch. Another large gathering is expected downtown at the Fremont Street Experience, but even here crowds are not expected to be critical.
On The Strip, the following eight casino resorts will all shoot fireworks off of the top of their hotels right at midnight:
- The Strat
- Resorts World
- Treasure Island
- The Venetian
- Caesars Palace
- Aria
- Planet Hollywood
- MGM Grand
The one thing that could derail the fireworks is the weather but even that looks okay. Temperatures are forecast to be frigid by Las Vegas standards, with a fireworks temp measurement in the high 30’s, partly cloudy with winds expected to be 10-15 mph coming from the Northwest. The sole concern is the wind, if conditions get too windy then fireworks could be cancelled.
All celebrators are encouraged to wear masks when in the outdoor crowds for safety, although to this point such mask wearing is not mandatory. Current health requirements do require all people, vaccinated or no, to wear a mask covering mouth and nose whenever in a public indoor situation.
So while many celebrations around the world are being scaled back, the Las Vegas new Yeats celebration is running full scale ahead. I will be cheering in the New Year on the Strip. Where will you be?
The Vagabond Horizon 