Only a few events are celebrated worldwide, with New Year’s celebrated in every corner of the earth.
Whether the fireworks on the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the Ball Drop at Times Square, New Year’s Eve is always celebrated in extravagant style.
Sydney New Year’s Eve 2024/2025, NYE Party Events, Harbour Fireworks & Tickets
New Year’s Eve in Sydney is one of the most anticipated celebrations of the year. As it is summertime in Sydney and most people can enjoy the public holiday the next day, many flock to the city for this massive celebration.
Many live shows are scheduled throughout the city, but the fireworks display on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is the biggest draw card of the NYE event.
If you are coming to Sydney to celebrate NYE, click the link below to secure your accommodation early before it all books out! Also, please check out the official website’s vantage point map and event list for full details on each location and to book your tickets.
Public Transport
With thousands of extra services running and major road closures in place, public transport is the only way to travel on New Year’s Eve. Large crowds are expected, so please plan your trip to and from the city ahead of time and consider all the available travel options.
You can tap on and off public transport services using an Opal card or American Express, Mastercard, Visa contactless card or linked device.
How you arrive during the day may differ from how you leave after the midnight fireworks. Transport services will be affected by road closures and crowds throughout the night. Be patient and follow the directions of employees on site. Stay out later to avoid the largest crowds accessing transport hubs.
There’ll be no direct public transport access to Circular Quay and surrounding vantage points from 3pm. Be prepared to walk from other nearby transport hubs and allow extra time.
Trains
Extra trains will run during the day on New Year’s Eve and into the early hours of the new year.
These stations have different arrangements for New Year’s Eve to manage crowds safely:
- Circular Quay: from 3pm until midnight, trains will not drop off passengers at Circular Quay Station. Services will be pick-up only. To access harbour foreshore vantage points, use Wynyard, St James or Martin Place stations and continue on foot.
- Milsons Point: from 6pm until midnight, trains from the city to the north shore will not stop at Milsons Point. Get off at North Sydney station to access vantage points or properties around Milsons Point and Kirribilli.
- Domestic Airport and International Airport: from 12:30am to 4:30am, trains will not stop at Domestic Airport and International Airport stations. Sydney Airport will be closed during this time.
Metro
On New Year’s Eve, metro services will run every 10 minutes from around 4am and then every 5 minutes from approximately 4pm until around 3am. Services run every 10 minutes on New Year’s Day.
- For access to vantage points in the city, change at Epping for T9 Northern Line trains to Central, Town Hall and Wynyard stations. Trains to the City leave Epping every 8 minutes.
- To access vantage points around North Sydney, change at Chatswood to connect with T1 North Shore Line trains to North Sydney or Milsons Point.
Buses
Thousands of extra bus services will run throughout the day and night to help you get to and from the celebrations.
Road closures will affect buses and cause them to use different routes and stops as roads close throughout the night. Be prepared to walk further than usual between bus stops and vantage points. The bus stop you arrive at is likely different from where you must catch buses home after the midnight fireworks, so plan your trip.
In the city: from 2pm buses usually run to Circular Quay will relocate to Martin Place. From 5pm and 7pm, all buses will use temporary terminals at Hyde Park, Wynyard, QVB and Town Hall. Some local buses will also be affected by closures earlier in the day.
In North Sydney: from 3pm buses will divert and use different stops around North Sydney station. Due to road closures, buses will not run to Milsons Point or McMahons Point.
Buses in other local council areas will also be affected by road closures, so plan ahead.
Ferries
Ferries are a very popular way to travel on New Year’s Eve, and services typically begin to reach capacity from mid-afternoon. If you’re looking to catch a ferry, plan to arrive early in the day as queues will be long and consider a plan B transport option, including local bus services if ferries are full. Plan your trip before leaving home.
Access to some ferry wharves, including Circular Quay, Milsons Point and McMahons Point, will be affected on New Year’s Eve as surrounding vantage points reach capacity during the day. Some ferries will stop operating on the harbour from the early evening.
You may not be able to catch a ferry to your preferred destination and will need to consider other transport options, including trains and continuing on foot instead.
Ferry service changes:
- Ferries will not stop at Woolwich Wharf from 11:30am.
- Ferries will not stop at McMahons Point Wharf from 10am and Milsons Point Wharf from 3pm. Catch trains to North Sydney or Milsons Point stations instead.
- From around 5pm, ferries will not run to or from Circular Quay.
- Limited ferries operate after the midnight fireworks to Manly and Lower North Shore wharves only.
- There are no late-night ferries on the F3 Parramatta River, F4 Pyrmont Bay, F7 Double Bay and F9 Watsons Bay routes.
Light rail
Sydney light rail services run regularly through the city centre, south-east and inner-west suburbs. Services will run until 4am on New Year’s Day.
L1 Dulwich Hill light rail services run regularly between Dulwich Hill and Central Station (Grand Concourse).
L2 Randwick light rail services run between Circular Quay and Randwick via Central Station (Chalmers Street), and L3 Kingsford line services run between Circular Quay and Juniors Kingsford via Central Station (Chalmers Street).
Light rail service changes :
- From 2pm, L2 and L3 services will not run between Circular Quay and Town Hall,
- From 7pm, L2 and L3 services will start and end at Central due to road closures.
- Change trains to Wynyard from Central to get closer to the harbour. For access to Darling Harbour and Pyrmont, walk from Town Hall or Central.
- From 8pm to 2:30am, L1 services will not run between Convention and Central due to large crowds and road closures. Continue on foot towards Central for trains home.
Secure taxi ranks
Security guards will be present at various taxi ranks on New Year’s Eve to help you get home safely
- 33 Bayswater Road, 9pm to 4am
- Oxford Street between Pelican and Riley Street, 9pm to 4am
- Darling Harbour, northern end of Lime Street, 9pm to 11pm, 1″30am to 4am, limited operation
- Sussex Street, between King and Market streets, 9pm to 11pm, 1″30am to 4am, limited operation
- City centre 43-57 Goulburn St, 9pm to 4am
- Zollner Circuit, 9pm to 4am
- Pyrmont Bridge Rd, 9pm to 4am
- Liverpool St at Hyde Park, 9pm to 4am
Road Closures
You should know a few things if you plan on driving on New Year’s Eve.
With so many parking restrictions and major roads closed, you can’t drive to the vantage points or see the fireworks from your car. Leave your car at home and catch public transport instead, with thousands of extra services running throughout the night.
Major roads closed
In the Sydney CBD, some roads start closing from as early as 4am with roads in Circular Quay and The Rocks closed by 2pm, followed by major closures in the city centre and Pyrmont by 7pm.
In North Sydney, Milsons Point and Kirribilli roads start closing from 5pm, with some early morning local road closures around vantage points.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge will be completely closed in both directions from 11pm ahead of the midnight fireworks. The Anzac Bridge citybound lanes will close from 8″30pm to 9.30pm and again from 11pm to 1:30am for both firework displays.
The majority of roads in North Sydney and Milsons Point will reopen by 3am; in the Sydney CBD, most roads will reopen by 4am.
Car parks and street parking
No vehicles can exit car parks in the city until the NSW Police Force reopens all roads. The road you drove on may be closed after you’ve left your vehicle.
It’s an offence to drive on closed roads, and penalties apply. NSW Police Force will monitor roads and car parks to ensure public safety while closures are in place.
Street Parking Restrictions
Special event clearway parking restrictions will be in effect from 6am on New Year’s Eve to 4am on New Year’s Day on most roads in the city, Pyrmont and North Sydney.
Clearways are strict no-parking zones for all vehicle types and apply even to local residents and businesses with parking permits or TfNSW Mobility Scheme permit holders. Vehicles left in clearways will be towed, and a fee applies.
- Sydney CBD and Pyrmont: special event clearways will be in effect on most major roads throughout the Sydney CBD and Pyrmont from 6am on NYE until 4am on NYD. On some roads, clearways will be in effect from 2am NYE until 6am NYD, including Macquarie St.
- North Sydney and surrounds: special event clearways will be in effect on roads in North Sydney, Milsons Point, Kirribilli, Lavender Bay Neutral Bay, Cremorne and Mosman between 1pm on New Year’s Eve and 3am on New Year’s Day.
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