Celebrations on New Year’s Eve are being scrapped in cities around the world as local authorities fear terror threats in cities from Sydney to Paris. Thousands of people looking to celebrate the start of 2026 have had their plans thwarted as reports of planned attacks have caused parties, fireworks and live events to be cancelled just days away from December 31.
Many events started to be axed after the FBI uncovered a planned bombing attack in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. Agents managed to arrest the four suspects during a planned rehearsal of their attack in the Mojave Desert just outside the city. Speaking at a press conference earlier in the month, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli showed surveillance footage taken by a drone, in which the suspects could be seen trying to assemble a bomb in the desert.
The attorney named the four suspects as Audrey Illeene Carroll, 30; Zachary Aaron Page, 32; Dante Gaffield, 24; and Tina Lai, 41, all from the Los Angeles area.
According to the Mirror US, despite the terror threat, Los Angeles has yet to officially cancel any of its New Year’s Eve events.
However, elsewhere around the world, the same cannot be said.
Sydney
In the wake of the Bondi Beach shooting that killed 15 and injured 40 more, Australia’s largest city has cancelled its fireworks display on the popular beach that often attracts upwards of 15,000 people.
Organisers at Waverley Council confirmed the cancellations, speaking to Sky News, they said: “Due to the current situation on the ground, Waverley Council has decided to cancel New Year’s Eve events at Bondi Beach, including elrow XXL Bondi and Local’s Lawn.”
They added that the decision was made with “compassion and care for Sydney’s Jewish community,” after the shooting two weeks ago.
Australia’s current National Terrorism Threat Level is probable, warning that there are a small number of people in Australia and overseas who want to cause Australia harm.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns warned Jews are still not completely safe due to the ongoing threat of antisemitism.
He said:“The real test for us will be one year from now, five years from now, 15 years from now, when the Jewish community feels safe in their community.
“I have spoken to so many members of the Jewish community in the last week who don’t feel safe. They don’t feel safe celebrating their religion, they don’t feel safe getting together as a community and we cannot have a situation where the solution to this horrible terrorism event is to have the Jewish community so we can only exist and celebrate our faith behind big walls.”
Paris
The French capital’s popular music event on the Champs-Elysées has been cancelled after police concerns, according to Parisian outlet sortiraparis.
Police urged Mayor Anne Hidalgo to call off the concert that attracts tens of thousands to the 8th Arrondissement over fears of crushes by the huge crowds.
Despite the cancelled event, the city’s main fireworks will carry on as normal.
