Sydney Harbour New Year's Eve fireworks Cruises

The Sydney Harbour New Year's Eve Fireworks display is renowned as one of the best in the world. This year promises to be no different. Here's my rundown on the events for this year.

Starting at 9pm, the traditional Family fireworks display promises to be the best ever. With 4 barges and the addition of new effects, this 8 minute, radio synchronized display is always a great indicator of what we can expect at midnight.

Immediately following the Family fireworks is the Harbour Light parade. The fleet of vessels adorned with spectacular lights, makes its way on a 15km circuit east and west of the Harbour bridge, from Clarke Island down to Cockatoo Island. This is a great spectacle for the millions of people lining the harbour foreshore and takes in the most beautiful sites of the harbour for those on board. At the completion of the parade, the vessels return to an exclusive viewing area with fantastic views of the midnight fireworks.

Finally, we come to the main event -- the 12 magnificent minutes of colour and sound that light up the Harbour. This year the display includes 30,000 effects, 6 fireworks barges across 6 kilometers of water and involves both spans and all roadway of the Harbour Bridge and 8 city buildings. An estimated 1.5 million people line the various vantage spots around the harbour, but the best view in the house is undeniably from the deck of a vessel.

With several new vessels to Sydney this season such as Bella Vista and the magnificent Starship, there are still many tickets available for a Sydney Harbour New Year's Eve fireworks cruise.

Michael Davies is Managing Director of Flagship Charters, a Sydney based cruise and charter company. His website is http://www.flagshipcruises.com.au