Sydney’s Famous NYE Fireworks Display To Go On As Planned Amid Bushfire Threat

SYDNEY, Australia — Australian officials are pushing ahead with Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display despite more than a quarter of a million people signing a petition calling for the event to be scrapped.

The Change.org petition said the funds that would normally be spent on the dazzling firework display should be redistributed towards the firefighting efforts.

The City of Sydney has faced increasing pressure to cancel the event in recent weeks. The state of New South Wales — of which Sydney is the capital — has been the hardest hit by the prolonged fire season. Conditions are expected to deteriorate over the next two days, the state’s Rural Fire Service (RFS) said on Twitter Monday.

Linda McCormick, who started the petition over a month ago, said the money should be given to “farmers and firefighters” to “save Australia’s wildlife.” She argued that the fireworks could “traumatize some people as there is enough smoke in the air.” The online petition had been signed by more than 270,000 people by Monday morning.

Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she had “been moved by the outpouring of support and care for the community” but that the event would continue as planned.

Commenting directly on the petition, Moore said, “Our fireworks are planned 15 months in advance and most of the budget — which is largely allocated to crowd safety and cleaning measures — has already been spent.”

Moore also tweeted Sunday in response to the petition writing, “I appreciate the calls people have made to cancel our New Year’s Eve event, but rather than doing that we’re using the huge reach of #SydNYE to encourage people around the world to support the @RedCrossAU’s important work of helping people who have been affected by disaster.”

Earlier this month, organizers from the City of Sydney said scrapping the show “would have little practical benefit for affected communities.”

(PHOTO: CNN)