Explosive cacophony in towns, cities and villages Festivities 1

While millions more celebrated at home, avoiding the crowds and the cold, a chain of beacons lit up overcast skies across the country. As the sun set on the last day of the 20th century the first of around 2,000 fires was set ablaze at RAF Saxa Vord on the Shetland island of Unst. Beacons in London,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Guardian (London)
Main Author Jamie Wilson, Stuart Millar and Helen Carter
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 01.01.2000
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:While millions more celebrated at home, avoiding the crowds and the cold, a chain of beacons lit up overcast skies across the country. As the sun set on the last day of the 20th century the first of around 2,000 fires was set ablaze at RAF Saxa Vord on the Shetland island of Unst. Beacons in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast were lit at 9.45pm, followed by beacons along the meridian line at midnight. Poor weather threatened to spoil the open-air celebrations in Northern Ireland, but about 40,000 jammed into Belfast for a firework display and concert outside the city hall, while in Londonderry thousands saw a 2,000-member choir perform on the city's historic walls.Earlier there were religious services, many interdenominational. The most symbolic was in Omagh, Co Tyrone, where 29 died in a bomb atrocity in August l998.
ISSN:0261-3077