All roads in Mysuru lead to the iconic Amba Vilas Palace as it hosted the city’s New Year celebration with impressive music and fireworks to welcome New Year 2024. The fireworks lit up the sky above the illuminated palace as thousands of people gathered to welcome 2024 in style.
The celebrations were most memorable as the fireworks lit up the skies when the clock struck 12 at midnight and everybody gathered there screamed ‘Happy New Year’.
The New Year celebration on the palace premises has become popular and the number of revelers gathering to be part of the celebration has been on the rise since the inception. The turnout on Sunday night for the celebration was big, even as the winter flower show hosted on the palace premises also drew to a close.
Amidst the scare of the new COVID-19 variant, the people assembled in big numbers to greet the new year with their thunderous cheering reverberating the palace surroundings. The COVID-19 scare did not overshadow the celebrations even as the authorities had only issued advisory without imposing any curbs on the celebrations.
The fireworks’ event began in the year 2017 and has been a regular feature since then barring the years during the pandemic. The images of the illuminated palace in the forecourt and the fireworks lighting up the skies at night have been catching the attention of many and the people from other places visited the city to glimpse the moments considering the grandeur.
Prior to the fireworks, the crowds were treated to music and cultural events. The performance by the Police Band – the most popular ensemble in the city – was the highlight. The band members performed between 11 p.m. to 12 a.m.
The police had been deployed in large numbers for security in anticipation of a large turnout of the people.
The countdown to the celebrations began more than a week ago when the winter flower show at the palace was inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on December 23. The show concluded on December 31. A slew of cultural events daily at the palace as part of the show built the momentum for the grand event.
In addition to the celebrations at the palace, the hospitality sector in the city hosted theme parties for the new year celebrations. Mysuru has emerged as a destination for year-end tourism with the city attracting record footfalls ahead of the Christmas and New Year.
