1 of 2 | A menorah is projected onto the pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia, during a New Years Eve tribute to the victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting on Dec. 14. Photo by Dan Himbrechts/EPA
Dec. 31 (UPI) — Australia rang in 2026 with fireworks, solidarity, words of encouragement and heavily armed police officers on New Year’s Eve in the wake of the Bondi Beach shooting.
“Peace” and “unity” were projected onto the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and fireworks exploded to celebrate the new year. The bridge was lit by a white light to symbolize peace, and a menorah was projected onto the bridge pylons as a show of solidarity.
At 11 p.m. AEDT, the festivities paused for a minute of silence for victims of the attack.
New South Wales Police said there were more than 2,500 police officers patrolling the streets of Sydney on Wednesday evening.
The heightened security is in response to the Dec. 14 attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Two gunmen shot and killed 14 people. One of the gunmen was also killed. There were 42 people injured in the attack.
Chris Minns, premier of NSW, noted that some might find the heavy police presence with guns “confronting.”
“But I make no apology for that,” Minns said. “We want people to be safe in our community.”
Before the event, the New York Times reported Sydney Mayor Clover Moore said, “I invite people at home and around the harbor to join with us by shining their phone torch in solidarity to show the Jewish community that we stand with them, and that we reject violence, fear and antisemitism.”
Joe and Lucy, British tourists, told the BBC that the boost of police presence reassured them. They were in Melbourne when the shooting happened.
“We had our worries about coming for New Year’s Eve,” Joe told the BBC. “But we were reading more recently in the news … how more police were going to be here, it would be a bit safer.”