Vienna New Year's Eve Trail 2024/25 Attracted 800,000 Visitors
Just over 800,000 visitors celebrated into the new year on the Vienna New Year's Eve Trail on Wednesday night. The City of Vienna Marketing drew a positive conclusion at the end of the event at 2.00 am.
No significant incidents were reported, the mood of the guests was consistently good and the situation along the eight stages was calm. The police also reported calm celebrations when asked by APA.
High Demand for Vienna New Year's Eve Trail: Stephansplatz Subway Station Closed
The demand for the Vienna New Year's Eve Trail was very high on Tuesday. At around 11.40 pm, the entire event area was closed to further guests due to full capacity, according to a press release. Previously, all 40 preliminary security barriers had been activated in the city centre, where seven of the eight stages are located.
"The organiser asks all celebrants who are only now setting off not to continue heading for the stages along the New Year's Eve Trail and to stay away from the event," said the City of Vienna Marketing. Even before this, the flow of visitors in the city centre was so large that the Vienna Lines had closed the Stephansplatz subway station for safety reasons. The trains on lines U1 and U3 no longer stopped there.
Celebratory Mood at Several Stages in Vienna City Centre
Since Tuesday 2:00 PM, the stages have been enticing with more than 100 hours of programming at Freyung, Am Hof, Graben, Stephansplatz, in Kärntner Straße and at Neuen Markt with free entertainment across all genres. The locations Wintermarkt at Riesenradplatz in Prater and Rathausplatz - the largest of the eight stages - started their programs at 8:00 PM and 10:00 PM respectively.
Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) visited the operations and security center in the early afternoon and expressed his gratitude to the forces. The New Year's Eve Trail, which in past years was visited by around 800,000 revelers, is taking place under high security measures. The threat situation remains high, even though there are currently no specific indications, it was said in advance from the Ministry of the Interior. Special and operational units were visible, similar to the Christmas markets, but also plainclothes investigators and new technical means such as drones were used.
"Danube Waltz" at Midnight Was a Must
For the start of the Johann Strauss year on the occasion of the composer's 200th birthday, the "Danube Waltz" was a must. Ankathie Koi and Max Mutzke performed a new arrangement of the classic hit live at Rathausplatz after midnight - supported by star percussionist Martin Grubinger and a 100-piece super band, and using a text by Tex Rubinowitz.
(APA/Red)
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