Around 800,000 visitors from Vienna, Austria and all over the world have been counted on the Vienna New Year’s Eve Trail in recent years. The event, which is one of the largest New Year’s celebrations on the continent, is expecting a similar number of guests this year.
Visitors can start the new year at a total of eight locations: Starting from Rathausplatz, the path runs over Freyung, Platz am Hof, Graben, Stephansplatz and Kärntner Straße, finally ending at Neuer Markt. Outside the city of Vienna, visitors also start the new year at the winter market at Riesenradplatz in the Prater.
Permanent exchange: Joint security and operations center
As in previous years, the security precautions for the major event are immense. In order to carry out the New Year’s Eve trail safely, the organizer, stadt wien marketing gmbh, has been in intensive contact with all relevant authorities for many months. On New Year’s Eve itself there is close cooperation in a joint security and operations center.
In addition to the organizer himself, the police, fire brigade and medical service are also on duty in the security center, where all information comes together and can be exchanged seamlessly.
Comprehensive video surveillance, public address systems and information displays
Comprehensive video surveillance is also in use this year, which is evaluated in real time and, among other things, allows valuable conclusions to be drawn about the behavior of visitor streams. The entire event area in Vienna’s city center also has a public address system that can be used to inform visitors about a variety of scenarios and, for example, redirect them if individual areas reach capacity. Numerous digital information displays, which can be used to display various information, support the organizer in communicating with guests.
Control of prohibited items
The organizer will provide well over 400 security staff on New Year’s Eve. In addition to other security-related tasks, their activities also include checking whether prohibited items are taken with them.
A set of rules applies to the entire event site, which includes, among other things, a list of items that are not allowed to be taken onto the site:
For example, glass containers, bottles, cans or bulky items such as large bags, backpacks, bicycles, skateboards, scooters or similar vehicles are prohibited on the Vienna New Year’s Eve Trail. Of course, the site regulations include a ban on weapons of any kind and objects that can be used as weapons or projectiles. Pyrotechnic items are also not allowed to be brought onto the premises.
The organizer of the Vienna New Year’s Eve Trail is authorized to carry out bag checks at any time, both at the entrances to the site and on the event area itself, in order to prevent items that are prohibited for security reasons from being carried.
Upstream security barriers at all entrances
With 40 security barriers upstream in the city center, it is guaranteed that no unauthorized access is possible from the time it goes into operation. From this point on, access for visitors is only possible via the access points Dr.-Karl-Renner-Ring/Stadiongasse, Universitätsring/Grillparzerstraße, Schottengasse/Teinfaltstraße, Michaelerplatz/Kohlmarkt, Rotenturmstraße/Lugeck and Kärntner Straße/Krugerstraße.
Barriers will also be erected on the road in the area of the Universitätsring, which will be closed to traffic from 8 p.m.
Organizer recommends public arrival
The organizer asks all visitors to only travel to the Vienna New Year’s Eve Trail in public and to find out about line changes from the Wiener Linien in advance. From around 9 p.m. onwards, it can be expected that the U1 and U3 will no longer stop at Stephansplatz station. Tram lines D, 1, 2 and 71 will also be shortened or rerouted in the Universitätsring area.
Always well informed online.
Guests making their way to the city center will be on the website www.wienersilvesterpfad.at as well as on the social media channels of @wienersilvesterpfad on Facebook and Instagram in the New Year’s Eve, should there be any changes to the process or even closures of individual areas. The website also contains all information about the program as well as how to get there and important information about taking prohibited items with you.
33. Vienna New Year’s Eve Trail
Tuesday, December 31, 2024, 2:00 p.m. – Wednesday, January 1, 2025, 2:00 a.m
Free entry, no tickets necessary
All information below www.wienersilvesterpfad.at