Latest news from City of Sydney

New Year’s Eve set to Inspire

The City of Sydney has been preparing for our 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve celebrations for more than a year. Hundreds of technicians, producers and performers will keep working right up until 31 December to make Sydney sparkle.

This year’s theme is Inspire and Creative Ambassador, Australian screen legend and storyteller Jack Thompson will help bring the theme to life with a series of stories about the harbour city.

We also want you to share your story. For the first time you’ll be able to have your own New Year’s Eve tweets projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylons.

We expect more than 1.6 million people to gather around the harbour for the event. Millions across Australia will be watching at home, and more than 1 billion worldwide will see Sydney at its most spectacular.

The 9pm Family Fireworks and Midnight Fireworks will see seven tonnes of fireworks – including 11,000 shells and more than 100,000 pyrotechnic effects – launched from the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and barges on Sydney harbour.

The top-secret Sydney Harbour Bridge Effect will be the centrepiece of the fireworks displays, featuring 13 kilometres of LED rope light and measuring as tall as a 12 storey building.

To make sure Sydney is at its best for 2015, the City will have 60 trucks and cleaning crews collect around 58,000kg of rubbish and empty more than 1,300 bins – all before the sun comes up on 1 January.

On behalf of the City of Sydney, I hope you enjoy a happy Christmas and fantastic New Year.

To find out more, visit sydneynewyearseve.com

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Free online magazines offered by City’s libraries

More than 150 magazines are now available free of charge to City of Sydney Library members, thanks to the roll-out of a new digital magazine service in November.

International and local titles, including Donna Hay, Rolling Stone and The Economist, are accessible online via a service called Zinio.

Members have unlimited access to download and view the entire City collection of digital magazines on their tablets, smartphones or personal computers.

To find out more, become a library member, or access the new magazine service, visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/explore/libraries