Crowds gather at Marina Bay for New Year countdown; several areas closed
People who are heading down are advised to check the crowd levels on the Crowd@MarinaBay website.
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SINGAPORE: With crowds gathered around Marina Bay for New Year countdown celebrations, the police have closed several areas that have reached full capacity.
In a Facebook post just after 8pm, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that it had closed the Jubilee Bridge, the Fullerton waterfront area and the Merlion waterfront area.
In subsequent updates, it said that the Esplanade waterfront area, Helix Bridge and Marina Bay Sands waterfront area near Rain Oculus had also been closed.
SPF advised members of the public to avoid these areas.
As of 10.40pm, most other areas of Marina Bay were marked as "very crowded" on the Crowd@MarinaBay website.
New Year's Eve revellers have also gathered around The Kallang, with SPF saying in an update at about 11.10pm that the Stadium Riverside Walk and Water Sports Centre had been closed.
As of 11.15pm, most other areas around the Kallang Basin were marked as "not crowded" on the Crowd@Kallang website.
Around four hours before midnight, polytechnic students Mr Eros E, 22, and Ms Yasmine Maricar, 21, had already settled down along the Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade near the Red Dot Design Museum.
The pair said they had spent the afternoon shopping at Suntec City and had dinner before heading over early to soak in the atmosphere. It was their first time ringing in the new year by watching the fireworks at Marina Bay.
Mr Eros said he was looking forward to the year ahead, especially the chance to travel after completing his polytechnic studies.
"Next year we'll have more opportunities for us to travel," he said.
Both said they were surprised by the level of security in the area, noting that several spots they had hoped to access were off limits to revellers.
Mr Chua Chin Guan, 51, turned this year's countdown into a family outing, arriving early to secure a spot along the Marina Bay Sands waterfront.
By 6pm, he had laid out a picnic mat for a group of around 10, which included a couple, a child, a domestic helper and even the family dog.
Other family members were still in nearby malls when CNA spoke to him.
While it is not a yearly tradition for the Chua family to join the countdown celebrations, Mr Chua said he felt it was a good opportunity for the extended family to spend time together.
When asked about his wishes for the year ahead, he said: "Let's hope Singapore businesses will get better and better, and everybody gets more money."
As more people continued to arrive at Marina Bay, some revellers noted patchy mobile phone reception, likely due to the large crowd already in the area.
Others also kept an eye on the skies, where occasional flashes of lightning lit up the night, even as many waited for the countdown festivities to begin in earnest.
To manage crowds, the police are releasing real-time photos of the situation at Marina Bay and Kallang. Certain areas may be closed if they become overcrowded.
People who are heading down to these areas are advised to check the crowd levels on the Crowd@MarinaBay website and the Crowd@Kallang website, which show real-time crowd levels and area closures, as well as the photos released by SPF.
Users can view the photos by clicking on the camera icons on the maps on the websites. These photos will be updated "periodically", according to the police.
Some entrances and exits of MRT stations around Marina Bay and the Kallang Basin will be closed to regulate crowd flow.
In the event of overcrowding, trains may bypass stations such as Bayfront and Stadium MRT stations to divert crowds away from these affected areas.
"Members of the public are advised to be patient and to follow the instructions of security personnel on duty," the police said on Monday.
The police added that the footways along the Esplanade Bridge, Bayfront Avenue, Merdeka Bridge and Tanjong Rhu Bridge are for transit purposes only.
"Pedestrians will not be allowed to stop and congregate on these footways," the police said.
Apart from Marina Bay and Kallang, various countdown activities are also lined up at Sentosa and Clarke Quay, as well as seven heartland sites.
Additional reporting by Abigail Ng
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