Ahead of New Year’s Eve night, police and medical services urged the public to be cautious with fireworks during the festivities to avoid getting hurt, news outlets reported.
People were also asked to be mindful of the needs of war-traumatized Ukrainian refugees living in Poland and to take extra care of pets, which might be frightened by fireworks, according to officials.
Meanwhile, New Year’s Eve parties went ahead free of restrictions for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A New Year's Eve party in Warsaw's Koszyki Hall. Photo: PAP/Mateusz Marek
Various media organisations provided audiences with a variety of entertainment.
Polish state TV greets 2023 with massive open-air bash
As has become tradition, state TV broadcaster TVP greeted the new year with a massive open-air bash in the southern mountain resort of Zakopane, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
New Year's Eve of Dreams with TVP attracted a capacity crowd of 30,000, with another 35,000 gathering outside the venue to get a glimpse of the event and join the festive celebrations, police said.
Meanwhile, some eight million TV viewers around the country tuned into the Zakopane concert, according to the tvp.info website.
The televised bash was headlined by renowned US pop-rap group The Black Eyed Peas.
The Black Eyed Peas. Photo: PAP/Łukasz Gągulski
Other international acts included Thomas Anders, the former frontman of German duo Modern Talking, and Ukraine’s pop superstars Dzidzio.
There was also a long line-up of domestic performers, from pop singer Edyta Górniak to folk-rockers Golec uOrkiestra and up-and-coming singer-songwriter Sara James, the PAP news agency reported.
The concert passed peacefully, according to police.
Meanwhile, private TV broadcaster Polsat staged a New Year’s Eve concert in the southern city of Chorzów, news outlets reported.
Nearly 40,000 revellers gathered in the Silesian Park to bid adieu to 2022 and ring in 2023.
They were entertained by diverse music acts, led by the Irish-American singer-songwriter Michael Patrick Kelly, of The Kelly Family fame.
Michael Patrick Kelly (centre). Photo: PAP/Zbigniew Meissner
Also on the bill were veteran pop star Maryla Rodowicz, rock stalwarts Lady Pank and genre-hopping singer-songwriter Ralph Kaminski, according to PAP.
The Chorzów concert and New Year’s Eve celebrations in the entire Śląskie province passed peacefully and without injuries, police said.
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Source: PAP, tvp.info