When it comes to holiday celebrations, New Year’s Eve is both the most anticipated and dreaded night of the year. But when you find the right spot to celebrate, it’s bound to be an absolute blast. We’re pretty spoilt for choice of places to watch the world-famous NYE fireworks in Sydney, and it looks like the rest of the world is down to party with us too. A new study has revealed our Harbour City as one of the top five destinations in the world where people want to celebrate NYE in 2023.
The research, carried out by travel insurance specialists InsureandGo, analysed Google searches from the last 12 months to reveal the cities that spiked the most interest for their 2023 NYE events.
Starting with a bang in first place is New York City, aka the city that never sleeps. More than one million people rug up in Times Square to watch the iconic ball drop, with global searches for NYE in New York having already surpassed 319,200 this year. Rounding out the top three most popular cities for NYE is Toronto with 194,000 searches, followed by Amsterdam and London in tied third place.
Sydney’s world-famous fireworks earned us a spot in the top five trending NYE destinations in 2023, with more than 150,000 searches so far. This year, the NSW government has opened up some of Sydney’s best vantage points to watch the fireworks for free, including Barangaroo Reserve, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, The Domain and Mrs Macquarie’s Point (where tickets used to sell for up to $520).
Sydney sure knows how to party and you’ll find pumping NYE parties all across the city, including a free concert with Sneaky Sound System in Parramatta; a night of DJs and drag at the Imperial Erskineville; a six-course dinner by the harbour at Cafe Sydney; or drinks in the sky at Bar 83. Back it up the next day with dancing, DJs and drinks at one of Sydney's best New Year's Day parties events and parties.
Here is the full list of cities the world wants to celebrate NYE in:
1. New York
2. Toronto
=3. Amsterdam
=3. London
5. Sydney
6. Las Vegas
7. San Francisco
8. Manchester
9. Washington
10. Dubai