Taipei’s New Year Countdown Party will attract more than 800,000 people, the Taipei City Government said yesterday as it unveiled the annual activity’s celebrity guests and event schedule.
The annual event will start at 7pm on Monday in front of Taipei City Hall, with TV personalities Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Plungon (浩角響起) hosting the party.
Pop stars including Hong Kong singer Aaron Kwok (郭富城), Taiwanese diva A-mei (張惠妹) and singer Harlem Yu (庾澄慶) will give performances until 1am on Tuesday.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said the city’s countdown party has become one of the most popular New Year’s Eve activities in Taiwan, and expected this year’s lineup to attract more than 800,000 people.
“We put a lot of effort into improving the annual New Year Countdown Party every year to meet the public’s expectation. We believe that this year’s lineup will attract a record-breaking number of people,” he said.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will also attend the event and join the crowd to count down to the Year 2013, the Department of Information and Tourism said.
Photo: Chou Min-hong, Taipei Times
Taipei 101 spokesman Michael Liu (劉家豪) said the annual fireworks show at one of the world’s tallest buildings will feature 22,000 rounds of fireworks that will be launched over 188 seconds, along with specially tailored music — an adaptation of The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky — with the theme “Swing for the Future.”
Traffic control measures will be imposed in Xinyi District (信義) on Monday. Taipei Rapid Transportation Corp (TRTC) will provide 42-hour non-stop service on all MRT lines beginning on Sunday. Trains are set to run every 2.15 minutes at peak hours.
After the countdown party, Taipei City’s Department of Transportation will dispatch 160 shuttle buses to help passengers leave the Xinyi District from 12am to 2:30am on Tuesday. Passengers can take the buses at any bus stops in the area.
Main New Year’s Eve celebrations:
Taipei City
Time and location: The plaza in front of Taipei City Hall, 7pm to 1am.
Acts: Harlem Yu (庾澄慶), Shin Band (信樂團), Jeannie Hsieh (謝金燕), A-lin (黃麗玲), Evan Yo (蔡旻佑), Aaron Kwok (郭富城) and A-mei (張惠妹).
Event budget: NT$8 million.
Taipei 101 Fireworks: NT$30 million.
Estimated crowd size: More than 800,000.
Special program: Taipei 101 will set off 22,000 fireworks over 188 seconds.
Greater Taichung
Time and location: The parking lot of the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 7:00 pm to 00:30 am.
Acts: S.H.E., Dream Girls, Meifen Chen (陳美鳳), Lala Xu (徐佳瑩), Della (丁噹), Roomie Band and Wang Tsai-hua (王彩樺).
Event budget: NT$7 million.
Estimated crowd: 200,000.
Special program: Fireworks and countdown with S.H.E.
Yunlin County
Time and location: Janfusun Park in Gukeng from 7:30pm to midnight.
Acts: Shadya Lan (藍又時), No Name Band and Eason Xie (謝博安) and Rachel Liang (梁文音).
Event budget: NT$10 million.
Estimated crowd: 30,000.
Special program: Giant Ferris wheel fireworks set off over 600 seconds.
Chiayi County
Time and location: Alishan Railroad Station from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.
Acts: Taichung Philharmonic Orchestra, Lin Yu-chun (林育群), Francesca Kao (高慧君), Jinsiou Singing Duo (錦繡二重唱).
Event budget: NT$3 million.
Estimated crowd: between 10,000 and 20,000.
Special program: New Year’s Eve party held at the nation’s highest elevation as well as the sunrise viewing on Jan. 1.
Greater Tainan
Time and location: The plaza in front of Tainan High Speed Rail Station from 6pm to 1am.
Acts: Crowd Lu (盧廣仲), Dog-G (大支), Anthony Neely (倪安東), Amber An (安心亞) and Jeannie Hsieh (謝金燕).
Event budget: NT$8 million.
Estimated crowd: 150,000.
Special program: Three-in-one festive event (watching sunset, viewing sunrise and welcoming New Year’s Day).
Greater Kaohsiung
Time and location: Kaohsiung Time Avenue from 7pm to 1am.
Main featuring stars: Mayday (五月天), David Tao (陶).
Event budget: NT$6 million.
Estimated crowd: 500,000.
Special program: Fireworks at Kaohsiung New Asia Harbor set off over 180 seconds.
Greater Kaohsiung
Time and location: Kaohsiung EDA World 高雄義大世界 from 7pm to 1am.
Acts: Hu Gua (胡瓜), Amber An (安心亞), Tien Hsin (天心), Jeannie Hsieh (謝金燕) and Sodagreen (蘇打綠).
Event budget: Not available.
Estimated crowd: 500,000.
Special program: Fireworks set off over 9 minutes and 9 seconds.
Information compiled by local news center and staff writer Jason Pan
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai