Visitors are to be prohibited from bringing balloons to this year’s New Year’s Eve countdown party in Taipei because of safety risks, the city’s Department of Information and Tourism said in a statement on Friday.
The decision was made because of concerns that balloons could ignite in the area where the New Year’s Eve celebration is being held, which is expected to be flooded with hundreds of thousands of people, the agency said.
About 10 specialty balloons exploded into flames at an event on Dec. 16 in Kaohsiung, causing burns to two people nearby.
The explosions were caused by sparks from cigarette lighters, as the balloons were filled with hydrogen gas, police said.
Notices are to be posted in the countdown party area to remind people and advise them not to purchase balloons off the street from unknown sources, the agency said.
Police will also be present to stop people from bringing balloons into the area, the agency said.
Meanwhile, the city said drones are not to be permitted at the event unless cleared with city authorities beforehand.
The Taipei New Year’s Eve Countdown Party is to begin at 7pm on Dec. 31 and will be hosted by entertainers Lin Po-sheng (林柏昇, AKA Kid from boy band Circus) and Bowie Tsang (曾寶儀).
Musician Nick Chou (周湯豪), also known as NICKTHEREAL, is to open the show, which is to include performances by other artists such as Della Ding (丁噹) a Chinese singer who forged her career in Taiwan; Taiwanese singers Crowd Lu (盧廣仲) and William Wei (韋禮安) and Singaporean singer/songwriter Tanya Chua (蔡健雅).
A performance by South Korean superstar Rain is to close the show.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
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