Millennium celebrations
The millennium celebrations were a worldwide, coordinated series of events to celebrate and commemorate the end of 1999 and the start of 2000 as well as the end of 2000 and the start of 2001 in the Gregorian calendar. The celebrations were held as marking the end of the 2nd millennium, the 20th century, and the 200th decade, and the start of the 3rd millennium, the 21st century, and the 201st decade. Countries around the globe held official festivities in the weeks and months leading up to the date, such as those organised in the United States by the White House Millennium Council, and most major cities produced firework displays at midnight. Equally, many private venues, cultural and religious centres held events. and a diverse range of memorabilia was created, including souvenir postage stamps.
As with every New Year's Eve, many events were timed with the stroke of midnight in the time zone of the location. There were also many events associated with the dawn on 1 January. An international television broadcast called 2000 Today was produced by a consortium of 60 broadcasters, while an alternative program Millennium Live was cancelled two days before the event.
Several countries in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and hence close to the International Date Line made arguments they were the first to enter the new millennium. Variously, the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and Kiribati all laid claims to the status – by moving the dateline itself, the temporary institution of daylight saving time, and claiming the "first territory", "first land", "first inhabited land" or "first city" to see the new year.
Events
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The US Navy submarine Topeka positioned itself underwater, straddling both the International Date Line and the Equator.At Caroline Island in the mid-Pacific, renamed as "Millennium Island", the Republic of Kiribati claimed the first land to see the new millennium.
In Tonga, a midnight service was held consisting of a choir recitation of Hallelujah. The country released an official millennium CD, prefaced with a greeting by King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV.
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On the Chatham Islands there was a Māori blessing. "As they faced the Pacific Ocean, a beacon was lit and school children sang."In Auckland, a fireworks display on the harbour made New Zealand the first industrial nation to celebrate the year 2000, being just west of the International Date Line.
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hosted a concert by American musician George Clinton.UTC+11
, the host city of the 2000 Summer Olympics, held a large fireworks display centering on the Harbour Bridge, with the locally famous graffito Eternity being recreated. For the first time in its history, the Sydney Opera House precinct was almost completely cordoned off from the public. Instead, tickets costing as much as each were being sold for Opera House parties. However, public transport and access was available to view the fireworks on the Bridge, which included a "waterfall" effect.UTC+10
's celebrations were at their Central Business District with a special presentation before the countdown and many fireworks. Adelaide was on UTC+10:30 during daylight saving time.Brisbane's celebrations were broadcast live on 2000 Today.
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Japan and South Korea hosted a joint millennium celebration. In Tokyo, there was a series of concerts, which included the 50th edition of NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen at the NHK Hall and Johnny's Countdown Live at the Tokyo Dome, as well as a fireworks display. At midnight, temple bells across Japan were rung 108 times to "dispel the evils of mankind".The Japanese heavy metal band Seikima-II played its last concert "The Doomsday" before its first breakup on 31 December. A major part of the band's fictional storyline was a prophecy stating that they would conquer the world before breaking up in 1999, with the name of the band itself being a pun meaning "the end of the century" in Japanese. Following the conclusion of the concert at 23:59:59 on 31 December, the band disbanded and could be seen disappearing into a portal of light leaving the stage.
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In China, the traditional Chinese New Year did not start until 5 February of that year, however celebrations were still held in Beijing alongside fireworks and dragon dances. At midnight, Chinese paramount leader Jiang Zemin lit a flame dedicated to the history of Chinese civilization.In Hong Kong, at eight minutes to midnight, film star Jackie Chan led a group of singers, and at the stroke of midnight, a fireworks display began.
In the Philippines, millennium parties simultaneously began in different parts of the country. President Joseph Estrada and top government officials joined celebrations at Rizal Park, which was broadcast on ABS-CBN and other Filipino television networks. At the Ayala Millennium Center, Regine Velasquez sang the Philippine Millennium theme song "Written in the Sand" at the top of the Peninsula Manila at about ten minutes to midnight as part of the Philippine presentation on 2000 Today, which was broadcast on GMA Network.
In Singapore, a pop trio consisting of Fann Wong, Tanya Chua and Elsa Lin performed a millennium song for Singapore, entitled Moments of Magic.
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Fireworks for the Vietnamese New Year in February were cancelled; in turn, Ho Chi Minh City organized a countdown party on 31 December at 10 pm, culminating in fireworks which began at midnight.UTC+6 to +5:30
In India, on New Year's Eve, fireworks were observed in the capital New Delhi. This was overshadowed by the return of Indian Airlines Flight 814's passengers and crew, who arrived home from Afghanistan after being held hostage for a week.One way the new millennium was celebrated in India was with the grand opening of the Thiruvalluvar Statue, a stone statue in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, depicting Valluvar, a Tamil speaking poet, philosopher and author of the Tirukkural, a book on morality. Both Valluvar and the Tirukkural are treated with reverence by Tamil speakers regardless of political or religious background, with the Tirukkural considered the most important work written in Tamil.
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The Burj Al Arab tower in Dubai was opened on 1 December to mark the new millennium.In Russia, Moscow's government and the Russian national government sponsored parties across the city. Celebrations were held at the Spasskaya Tower to ring in the new millennium.
The President of Russia Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly announced his resignation during his annual Presidential New Year Address. For the rest of the day and into 2000, prime minister Vladimir Putin served as acting president, and he gave a New Year address of his own. Putin would later be elected president for a full four-year term in March 2000.
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Former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela lit a candle in his former cell at Robben Island at the stroke of midnight.Athens held a fireworks display over the Acropolis and a televised choir sang the Olympic anthem, a Byzantine anthem and the Greek national anthem.
In Egypt, a concert entitled The Twelve Dreams of the Sun with music by Jean-Michel Jarre was held at the Giza pyramid complex. A wave of persecution against the Coptic minority started on 31 December and continued into January as a massacre. It was the result of an argument between a Coptic Christian merchant and a Muslim customer in Kosheh, Upper Egypt, which led to an incident on New Year's Eve when relatives of the Muslim customer targeted Christian-owned shops and homes to be looted, destroyed, and burned. This then turned into an anti-Coptic riot and the police were not able to control the crowd. This riot continued throughout the night and into the new millennium when it culminated on 2 January with a massacre of 20 Coptic Christians. One Muslim was also accidentally shot dead by a fellow Muslim.
In Jerusalem, and particularly at the Mount of Olives, fears that doomsday fanatics "could try to trigger an apocalypse prompted one of Israel's biggest peacetime police operations."
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Paris was the focal point of celebrations in France where searchlights and 20,000 strobe lights for the event were installed on the Eiffel Tower. They remained in operation until June 2003, when they were replaced by another installation.In Switzerland, a new constitution, which was approved in a referendum in April 1999, came into effect at midnight on 1 January.
In Madrid, star-shaped balloons were set up at midnight on top of the Casa de Correos building in Puerta del Sol Square.
In Stockholm, the band Europe performed a concert to celebrate the new millennium. This was the first concert played by the band since 1992 when they went on hiatus, and they were brought back together due to a request to perform such a concert. For the first and time, both of their lead guitarists, John Norum and Kee Marcello played together, as both of them had accepted the offer of playing with the band that night. The two songs performed, "Rock the Night" and "The Final Countdown", the band's two biggest hits, had extra meaning due to the night they were sung on.
In the Netherlands, national radio station Radio 2 broadcast the Top 2000, a multi-day compilation of the twentieth century's greatest hits, to inaugurate the new millennium. It was also a response to the faltering ratings of the station during Christmastime due to the competition of commercial radio stations dedicating themselves to holiday music. The order of the songs was decided by public votes, and the song voted number one was played immediately before midnight on 1 January 2000. The Top 2000 was a massive success and has since become an annual tradition.
In Vatican City, Pope John Paul II led a blessing in St Peter's Square.
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In London, attention focused around Big Ben, as well as the opening of the Millennium Dome attended by Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie. A huge fireworks display, called the "River of Fire", went along of the River Thames. Also in London, the computer generated music piece Longplayer by Jem Finer started at midnight. Longplayer is designed to last 1000 years without ever repeating; the tune will end on 31 December 2999.In Cardiff, Wales, the Manic Street Preachers held a concert at the Millennium Stadium. Entitled "Manic Millennium", it was attended by 57,000 fans and led to the release of Leaving the 20th Century. The final song, A Design for Life, was broadcast live worldwide.
At noon on 1 January, the "Ring In 2000" event took place across the United Kingdom, which aimed to ring every church bell in the country simultaneously. The Millennium Commission awarded £3 million in grants to repair or replace many old and inoperable bells, and years of planning were required to recruit and train a sufficient number of volunteers. An estimated 95 per cent of the country's 45,000 church bells were successfully rung that day.
The Irish national radio and television organisation RTÉ produced a marathon 19-hour broadcast called Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000, while the BBC in the United Kingdom headed an international 28-hour event known as 2000 Today.
The Spanish royal family stayed at the Royal Residence of La Mareta in Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands, to celebrate the new millennium. One member, Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the mother of King Juan Carlos I, died of a heart attack there on 2 January at the age of 89. As a result, seven days of national mourning were declared.