Five community celebrations took place across Tauranga city on Saturday evening to welcome in the new year.
SunLive provided live coverage from Matua, Tauranga waterfront, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa and Greerton during the evening.
The celebrations brought the community together with live music, roving entertainment, activities, and local MCs to host.
Events ended with a colourful display of fireworks at 9.30pm, except for Greerton which had a light show.
Greerton laser light show on New Year's Eve. Photo: Deborah Berry.
Greerton laser light show on New Year's Eve. Photo: Deborah Berry.
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Entertainment at New Year's Eve Community Celebrations. Photo: Hunter Studio.
Entertainment at New Year's Eve Community Celebrations. Photo: Hunter Studio.
A new addition to the celebrations was cultural performances, with Filipino, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Indian, Cambodian and Pacific Island dance groups and individuals taking to the stage.
The performances were part of a new collaboration between Multicultural Tauranga and Council, designed to make the events more inclusive.
Cultural performances were a popular addition to this year's New Year's Eve community celebrations. Photo:Simon Dawson.
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Filipino dancer Nikka performing at the Greerton celebration. Photo: Deborah Berry.
In Matua, an earlier event with limited noise and crowds took place for those with sensory sensitivities and/or accessibility requirements.
The events are part of Council's work to promote a safer new year and to offer a way for everyone to celebrate locally in a community-minded, family-friendly environment.
For more events visit My Tauranga.
A bouncy castle that blew over at Matua was deflated and weighted down following the incident that resulted in one person being taken to hospital. Photo: Rosalie Liddle Crawford.
Incident at Matua community celebration
On Saturday evening there was an incident with a bouncy castle at Fergusson Park's New Year's Eve community celebration in Matua. One person was taken to hospital and four people were treated by medical staff on site.
As a precaution, all inflatable devices were closed at all the community events as soon as Council were notified of the incident.
Worksafe NZ was notified, and Council is undertaking its own investigation.
Video shows the bouncy castle at Fergusson Park being blown over. Video: Supplied.
4 comments
Very pleased to see...
Posted on 01-01-2023 10:06 | By morepork
...increased co-operation between Multi-cultural Tauranga and the Council. We SHOULD be celebrating our diversity and making sure that ALL ethnicities are included and respected.
I dont disagree morepork, but.......
Posted on 01-01-2023 21:25 | By groutby
...whoever would like to be included in such celebration or any other should not have to seek inclusive 'permission' from the council or anyone else to do so....the 'controlled' cultural indentification required is not only annoying, it's just downright wrong...be yourselves people, if you qualify in being a reasonably upstanding human irrespective of race, colour or creed....then stuff the council or anyone else's requirements and get into it!!...
Groutby correct
Posted on 03-01-2023 10:59 | By Slim Shady
I’d go one further and say that the incessant lecturing and brainwashing is counter productive. The vast majority of people are tolerant, accepting and easy going. We don’t need to be schooled all the time on how to be decent human beings. The backlash is growing and it is down to the intolerable, constant and often ludicrous woke culture.
Go woke
Posted on 05-01-2023 11:44 | By an_alias
As they say, Go Woke, Go broke....
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