Partyslava

The celebrations bringing in the New Year in the centre of Bratislava have become a tradition in the past several years. Last year around one hundred thousand people welcomed in the New Year on the streets and squares of Bratislava, with around every fifth person from abroad.

The Bratislava New Year’s Eve celebration that go by the slogan “Welcome to Partyslava”! is now a mega-event, on a par with the celebrations of any other major European city.

The Main Square is at the epicentre of the festivities, together with the neighbouring Hviezdoslav Square in front of the opera house and the embankment along the River Danube between Nový Most and Starý Most bridges. Access to the fun zones in the city centre is through check points, which have a preventive function.

For several hours on the last day of 2008 the Main Square will be alive with live concerts from the very best of the local rock and pop scene. The programme will culminate in the countdown of the last few seconds of the old year.

In the early evening the area in front of the national opera house will already become a large dance floor with DJs playing various genres of lively music, reaching a peak after midnight.

In the half hour or so leading up to the arrival of the New Year, tens of thousands of locals and visitors will make their way to the Danube embankment to bring in the New Year 2009 together under a huge fireworks and lights display. In the past few years the fireworks have been launched directly from boats floating on the Danube, creating a truly magnificent spectacle.

So if you decide to celebrate the arrival of the New Year 2009 in Bratislava – or rather Partyslava, as the city was called a few years ago by some visitors from abroad – be prepared for some madness, but also a cheerful crowd of locals, where even the typical Central European cold will be warmed.