Newsroom
As cities around the world reconsider how, or whether, to stage large New Year’s Eve celebrations, the decisions are being shaped as much by memory as by immediate threat. Over the past decade, holiday gatherings meant to symbolize joy and renewal have repeatedly been transformed into scenes of violence, leaving a residue of unease that now shadows major public events.
Authorities point to a growing list of attacks that occurred during festive periods: a deadly shooting at a Strasbourg Christmas market, stabbings at Manchester’s Victoria Station on New Year’s Eve, a knife attack near the Eiffel Tower, and vehicles deliberately driven into holiday crowds in Germany and elsewhere. In the United States, the 2020 Nashville bombing, set off early on Christmas morning, underscored how symbolic dates can become targets. More recently, federal investigators disrupted an alleged New Year’s Eve bombing plot in Los Angeles, reinforcing fears that large celebrations remain vulnerable.
Australia, France and Germany have now all CANCELLED their usual New Years Celebrations
— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) December 19, 2025
We all know why
But we're not allowed to say pic.twitter.com/cJ705xWbLh
Against this backdrop, cities like Paris, Tokyo and Belgrade have opted to cancel or scale back marquee events, citing concerns about dense crowds, unpredictable movement and the difficulty of guaranteeing safety in open, public spaces. Even where no specific threat has been identified, officials acknowledge that the lessons of recent years loom large.
New York City, preparing once again to welcome close to a million people into Times Square, illustrates the tension between tradition and risk. The celebration now unfolds within a vast security apparatus, months of planning, fortified buildings, controlled access points, reflecting how public festivity has become inseparable from counterterrorism and crowd control.
For many people, the accumulation of past incidents has quietly altered personal calculations. Travel advisers report rising demand for private dinners, ticketed events and exclusive gatherings, a shift that accelerated after the pandemic but has been reinforced by recurring acts of violence tied to holidays. The result is a global New Year’s Eve shaped not only by anticipation, but by a collective memory of disruption.
With information from Fox News.
