Kia Ora! (Hello!)
By Bruce Stewart and Shawn Connally
So
you think the millennium hype's getting unbearable in the old U.S.
of A., do you? Empire State building parties, San Francisco Bay
cruises, all-night street parties in New Orleans.
Well, just try living in New Zealand.
Being the first "civilized" place in
the world to greet the New Dawn of a New Millennium -- we're a day
minus three hours ahead of the U.S. West Coast -- the island
country of New Zealand has reached hyper-hype. And it's only just
December 1.
The First to Celebrate
The Chatham Islands actually get the first rays
of the new millennium sun, but since their population numbers only
in the hundreds, they aren't exactly teeming with celebratory
events. Australia? It's two hours west, so two hours late in
greeting the new dawn.
So it's New Zealand, and the small country is
taking its greeter role party-hardy seriously. In Auckland alone,
NZ's biggest city, you've got your choice of at least four
official all-night mega-parties, not to mention every bar and pub
in the city throwing its own extravaganza. And since most bars
don't close until 3 a.m. anyway, we're talking some major
partying.
You don't have to drink to celebrate, however.
Two of the major events include a 12-hour, alcohol-free marathon
of festivities and a pre-dawn to early morning happening that's
more about getting in tune with the Earth than getting drunk.
Here's a short list of events we'll be sussing
out in the next six weeks. It's a tough job, but, hey, someone's
gotta do it.
Out And About In New Zealand
First Night Auckland 2000 at The Edge
Auckland's 12-hour carnival-style party is part
of the international New Year's Eve program started in Boston in
1976 as an alternative to traditional revelry. But Auckland gives
it a definitely multicultural twist.
Pacific Island choirs, drummers and dancers will
entertain, side-by-side with jazz and rock bands, henna painters,
lion and fire dancers, graffiti artists and "a specially
commissioned millennium ritual." We're not sure what it is,
but we'll be sure to tell you all about it as soon as we find out.
This Is It
This Is It promises to be a stunning theatrical
extravaganza in Auckland's Domain -- a huge, rolling green hills
park set on a hilltop in the center of town. Stunning it could be,
extravagant it already is. The numbers speak for themselves:
a 1,000-member cast
a three-hour theatrical journey through the
past 2,000 years
visual effects projected onto a superscreen
some 164-feet wide and 60-feet tall
a 200-foot-wide stage and 200-foot-long
catwalk
Sure, we'll get the usual historical highlights --
the birth of Jesus, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, Marco
Polo, the Black Death, Gallileo, Shakespeare, Mozart and Newton,
the world wars. But This Is It's production will include the New
Zealand perspective as well, including the epic Maori waka (canoe)
journeys across the Pacific Ocean.
Waterfront Celebration
The Split Enz, the 80s band that gave birth to
Crowded House, is very, very big news in NZ. So it's no wonder
that these local boys -- upon announcing they were re-uniting once
again for a NY's Eve concert in the new Cup Village on the
waterfront - sold out their show in something like 18 minutes
flat.
The New Zealand Cup Village -- home to the Louis
Vuitton Cup and America's Cup sailing competitions -- will also
offer views of the fireworks show at midnight, and sits less than
a block away from more than 20 hip, super-trendy bars sure to be
overflowing with millennium debauchery to the nth degree.
Fire in the Sky
Auckland is home to Sky Tower, the Southern
Hemisphere's tallest building, which pretty much looks like
Seattle's Space Needle. So what better place to shoot off
mega-tons of fireworks to herald in the new millennium? We're
talking 24-inch shells -- the biggest ever detonated in New
Zealand - rising 1,600 feet into the sky above Auckland's downtown
area.
Starting
at midnight and running for 12 minutes, fireworks will be shot
from the Sky Tower, other downtown high rises, places in the
Domain, and barges anchored in the inner harbor. Fire in the Sky
will be choreographed to a special musical composition performed
live in the Domain by the Auckland Philharmonia.
Day One
Here's the touchy-feely Dawn Ceremony, a
celebration of first light, moment-of-silence event. Done NZ
stylie, it's gonna be groovy, you can bet. Approximately 2,000
people will stand on a beach and perform the world's biggest haka,
a Maori war dance that includes cool moves and loud chanting.
Plus, there'll be a huge burst of flames at
dawn's early light; the launching of a 2,000-plus flotilla of
vessels -- everything from war canoes and dragon boats to naval
ships, America's Cup boats and leisure craft (they don't call
Auckland the City of Sails for nothin'); and conch calls and a
formal Maori welcome sung across the bay.
The First to Arrive
First Born
What's to be expected after all this
celebrating? Well, for one thing, a baby. The millennium's first
baby will most likely be born in New Zealand. Boy or girl? Local
or a visiting foreigner? We aim to find out and let you know all
about it.
Hype, hype and then a little baby hype. We're
all over it, down here on the edge of the new millennium.
This article is Part I in a series:
Part I: Kia Ora! (Hello!)
Part II: This Is It
Part III: First
Night 2000, and Beyond
Bruce Stewart is a freelance Web writer who
frequently contributes to ZDNet, Web Tools, and Web Review. Shawn
Connally is head of field production for the America's Cup
official Web site, americascup.org. They are happily married geeks
who -- before and after a seven-month stint in New Zealand -- live
in Sonoma County, Calif., and occasionally collaborate on
assignments for the Web.
