The approximately one and a half kilometer long New Year’s Eve trail in the city center was opened at 2 p.m., 45 minutes before midnight the area was fully occupied. Six stages on Freyung, Hof, Graben, Stephansplatz, Kärntner Straße and Neuer Markt attracted visitors. There was a waltz orchestra, dance lessons, oldies and a children’s program. Almost 30 catering units spoiled with food and drinks.
New Year’s Eve Trail without Town Hall Square
The great exuberance was not noticeable in the last two hours of 2022, which was probably saved for 2023. Instead, people strolled regarding 200 meters in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, took a few photos with their smartphones and consumed drinks. For the time being, no firecrackers were fired either, as was the case outside the New Year’s Trail zone during daylight hours.
The sounds on Stephansplatz were wilder, “Hit The Road Jack” rang out from the stage there and the density of visitors increased the closer they got to “Steffl”, the speed decreased and a “Na Servas” or “Hoppala” escaped many , if he touched his counterpart because of it. It also became narrower on Kärntner Strasse, where a police presence was present near a fish restaurant.
The town hall square was not used this year, according to the organizers, this was not possible from an organizational point of view between the Christmas market and the ice dream. There will be no big fireworks “for the sake of the environment, the many animals in the city and also the people”, according to Paul Weis, Managing Director of the City of Vienna Marketing, to the ORF.
Traffic light system for crowds of visitors
In order to avoid crowds, the city has announced several measures in advance. “We use our video surveillance system to monitor what is happening along the path,” says Michael Domkar, project manager of the New Year’s Eve path, to “Vienna Today”. With an electronic information system, information might be passed on to the visitors. “And should it be necessary, we can also intervene with a traffic light system and signal people whether they can go or wait a moment,” said Domkar.
Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) and Vienna’s state police chief Gerhard Pürstl visited the control center of the emergency services and organizers and took part in the last briefing. Pürstl had previously announced zero tolerance for rioters. After the end of the event, the Vienna police said that the night had passed quietly in the city center, but a balance sheet is not expected until the morning of New Year’s Day.
Around 400 cubic meters of waste on average
Several road sweepers and garbage trucks and also a crane truck had been on the move along the New Year’s Eve path since 3:00 a.m. to clear up the remains of the New Year’s Eve party. The MA 48 calculates that there are 400 cubic meters of waste on average over the years.
Even if reusable cups and returnable containers have been used on the New Year’s Eve trail for years, broken glass, paper and other rubbish are left behind. 300 containers were also set up along the New Year’s path for residual waste, 40 for colored glass and 50 yellow bins for plastic bottles and cans.
