Millennium celebrations

Millennium countdown on the Eiffel Tower, Paris

The Millennium celebrations were a worldwide, coordinated series of events celebrating New Year's Eve in 1999-2000, marking the end of the second millennium and beginning of the new, third millennium.[1] Many countries held official festivities in the weeks and months leading up to the millennium, such as those organised in the USA by the White House Millennium Council, and most major cities produced firework displays at midnight. Equally, many private venues, cultural and religious centres held events[2] and a diverse range of memorabilia was created - such as souvenir postage stamps.[3]

As with every New Year's Eve, many events were timed with the "stroke of midnight" at the timezone of the location. There were also many events associated with the dawn on January 1. While there was debate over whether the millennium truly begins in 2000 or 2001 the popularity of the round number made New Year's 1999-2000 a global celebration. An international television broadcast called 2000 Today was produced by a consortium of 60 broadcasters, while an alternative program Millennium Live was cancelled two days before the event.

Some countries in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and hence close to the International Date Line engaged in "Millennium politics" to argue they were the first to enter the new millennium. Variously, the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and Kiribati all laid debatable claims to the status - by moving the dateline itself, institution of daylight savings and claiming "first territory", "first land", first inhabited land" or "first city".[4]

Events

Standard Time Zones Map, as of November 10, 2012. Millennium celebrations proceeded from right to left.
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

UTC+14

The US Navy submarine Topeka positioned itself 400 feet underwater, straddling both the International date line and the equator.[5]

At Caroline Island, renamed as "millennium Island" in the mid-Pacific, the republic of Kiribati claimed the first land to see the new millennium.[6]

On the Chatham Islands there was a Maori blessing. "As they faced the Pacific Ocean, a beacon was lit and school children sang."[7]

UTC+12

In Auckland, a fireworks display on the Harbour made New Zealand the first industrial nation to celebrate the year 2000, being just east of the International Dateline.

UTC+10

Sydney held a large fireworks display centering on the Harbour Bridge with the locally famous graffito Eternity being recreated.[8] For the first time in its history, the Sydney Opera House precinct was almost completely cordoned off from the public. Instead, tickets costing as much as $2000 each were being sold for Opera House parties.[6] However, public transport and access was available to view the fireworks on the Bridge, which included the "waterfall" effect.[9]

UTC+9

In Tokyo, there were a series of concerts and a fireworks display. At midnight, temple bells across Japan were rung 108 times to "dispel the evils of mankind".[5]

UTC+6

In Beijing, alongside fireworks and dragon dances, President Jiang Zemin lit an "eternal flame"and "pledging China would restore its lost glory".[5]

UTC+2

Athens held a fireworks display over the Acropolis and a televised choir sang the Olympic anthem, a Byzantine anthem and the Greek national anthem.[10]

In Jerusalem, and particularly at the Mount of olives, fears that doomsday fanatics "...could try to trigger an apocalypse prompted one of Israel's biggest peacetime police operations."[5]

In Giza, a concert called The Twelve Dreams of the Sun with music by Jean Michel Jarre was held on the pyramids.[11]

UTC+1

Paris was the focal point of celebrations in France where searchlights and 20,000 strobe lights for the event for installed on the Eiffel tower. They still operate each night.[12]

In Rome, Pope John Paul II led a traditional Te Deum service at St. Paul's Cathedral.[5]

UTC±0

In London, attention focused around Big Ben, the Millennium Dome and fireworks display, called the "River of Fire" went along several kilometers of the Thames.[13]

The Irish national television channel RTÉ produced a marathon 19 hour broadcast called Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000.

UTC-5

In New York, a new Times Square Ball made of Waterford Crystal was commissioned and organizers expected a total attendance exceeding 2 million spectators.[14]

The Walt Disney World Millennium Celebration was held at the Disney theme park in Florida, primarily at Epcot.

UTC-12

"Samoa remains unchallenged in its claim as the last place on Earth to celebrate the closing of the century." [4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "2000: World celebrates New Millennium". On This Day: January 1. BBC. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  2. ↑ "A pointer to celebrations". Asia week.com. CNN. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Stamp issue - Millennium Firsts". Posterity Post. Chatham Islands Postal Service. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 Aimee, Harris (1999). "Millenium: Date Line Politics". Honolulu magazine (August ed.): 20. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Japan Holds Traditional, Millennium Celebrations". Orlando Sentinel. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  6. 1 2 Rivera, Larry (1 January 2000). "Into the New Millennium". Australia Travel. About.com. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Beale, Jonathan (31 December 1999). "Celebrating on Chatham Island". BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Dennis, Anthony (1 January 2000). "Millennium dawns". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Digital). Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Video of Sydney Millennium fireworks". YouTube. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "ET1". Youtube. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "The Twelve Dreams Of The Sun was a concert by Jean Michel Jarre". YouTube. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "The Eiffel Tower’s Illuminations". Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "2000 Arrives - London, England". Youtube. ABC. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  14. ↑ Kelley, Tina (December 30, 1999). "There's Another Countdown Before the Famed '10, 9, 8 . . .'". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.