The Devonport City Council has approved changes to two of Council’s major end of year events – the annual Christmas parade and the New Year’s Eve celebrations.
At the Council Meeting on Monday 24 August 2020, the decision was made to cancel New Year’s Eve celebrations in its usual format, however, Council is looking at ways to support the community to celebrate the end of 2020 and the beginning of a new year, while still keeping the community COVID safe.
This was a difficult decision, however due to the level of planning and organisation that is required to deliver these events, it was necessary for Council to consider the matter in light of the current COVID-19 restrictions for public events, which make large scale events such as the parade and New Year’s Eve very difficult to manage.
In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, a number of Council events, programs and activities have either been cancelled or modified as a result of restrictions imposed for public events arising from COVID-19.
Council is planning to run smaller COVID-19 safe community events throughout December and will allocate the subsequent budget surplus to community social recovery actions.
Devonport City Mayor, Councillor Annette Rockliff acknowledged that Council’s Community Services team has been intent on keeping the community connected during the COVID-19 pandemic and is looking forward to seeing what activities will be promoted for the Christmas period.
“The Christmas/New Year period is often an exciting time of the year, especially for the children in our community, and whilst the decision to cancel New Year’s Eve celebrations has been difficult, I am confident that Council will provide a variety of events that capture the community spirit and enable us to celebrate in a COVID safe environment,” Cr Rockliff said.
A decision to cancel the Christmas Parade will be made on 1 October 2020, should the capacity of outdoor events not be lifted from 500 people.
Devonport Carols by Candlelight Convenor, Mrs Sue Jordan, has also confirmed that Carols by Candlelight will not be going ahead due to the present and expected restrictions of COVID-19.
