AP PHOTOS: old images show the contrast of New Year’s Eve
There were countdowns and live performances, but New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world looked radically different this year, as large crowds moved away from traditional party venues like Times Square in New York and Champs Elysees in Paris .
The coronavirus that changed so much in 2020 led to the cancellation of most fireworks displays and public events in favor of moments made just for TV in cities around the world.
The Associated Press captured images from then and now of some of these popular locations around the world to illustrate the striking contrast between jubilant crowds in previous years and quiet, empty streets towards 2021.
In South Korea, the Seoul city government canceled its annual New Year’s Eve ringing ceremony in the Jongno neighborhood for the first time since the event was first held in 1953, months after the end of the Korean War .
And in Tokyo, the Maiji Jingu Shinto shrine, which traditionally attracts millions of people each year during the New Year holidays, closed its doors on New Year’s Eve for the first time in 74 years.