HONG KONG — Fireworks are typically a celebratory centerpiece of Hong Kong’s New Year celebrations. Not this year. <\/p>\n
The territory will ring in 2026 without spectacular and colorful explosions in the sky over its iconic Victoria Harbor after a massive fire<\/a> in November that killed at least 161 people.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s tourism board will instead host a music show Wednesday night featuring soft rock duo Air Supply and other singers in Central, a business district that also is home to the famous nightlife hub<\/a> Lan Kwai Fong. The facades of eight landmarks will turn into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight.<\/p>\n Fireworks have long been part of the city\u2019s celebrations for the New Year, Lunar New Year and National Day. The pyrotechnic displays against Hong Kong\u2019s world-famous skyline of skyscrapers typically draw hundreds of thousands of people including many tourists to both sides of the promenade.<\/p>\n Rosanna Law, the territory’s secretary for culture, sports and tourism, acknowledged Tuesday that having no fireworks would affect some hotel and restaurant businesses.<\/p>\n Annie Wang, a tourist from Shanghai, said that although she had planned to watch the fireworks show, she understood the city’s decision because she found news of the blaze heart-wrenching. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s quite regretful. But there’s no way around it after the fire,” said Wang, a university student. <\/p>\n Wang Miao, a teacher from the neighboring economic hub of Guangzhou, planned to join the official countdown activities in Central despite the absence of fireworks. She said it was a pity that she could not see pyrotechnics, but she could understand why. <\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn’t affect our experience in Hong Kong,\u201d Wang said. <\/p>\n By early Wednesday evening, crowds of revelers had already gathered near the performance stage in Central, hoping to secure the best views of the musical performance. <\/p>\n The financial hub\u2019s worst blaze since 1948 broke out at Wang Fuk Court, in the northern suburban district of Tai Po, in late November. The apartment complex was undergoing a monthslong renovation project with buildings covered by bamboo scaffolding<\/a> and green netting.<\/p>\n Authorities have pointed to the substandard netting<\/a> and foam boards installed on windows as contributing factors in the fire\u2019s rapid spread. Thousands of affected residents have moved to transitional homes, hotels and youth hostels, struggling to recover from the loss of lives and homes that took them years to buy. The casualties pained many residents<\/a> across the city.<\/p>\n Past tragedies in Hong Kong have forced similar cancellations of fireworks. They include the 2013 National Day festivities following a vessel collision that killed 39 people on Oct. 1, 2012, and the 2018 Lunar New Year celebration after a bus crash that left 19 dead. During the 2019 anti-government protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple displays also were scrapped. <\/p>\n The origin of fireworks is believed to date to China in the second century B.C., when someone discovered bamboo stalks exploded with loud bangs when thrown into fire, creating the first natural \u201cfirecrackers,\u201d according to the American Pyrotechnics Association, a U.S. trade group. <\/p>\n