Over a million people flocked to Sydney Harbour to watch a spectacular 12-minute, multi-million dollar pyrotechnics display involving some 8.5 tonnes of fireworks to ring in 2019.
It was a relatively mild blunder on one of the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that had everyone talking online.
"Oh no it's 2018 again," one user quipped, along with a screengrab of the offending signage. "Happy new year apparently it's still 2018 here in Sydney," another wrote. "You had one job. D'oh," another joked.
Oh no it’s 2018 again #typo https://t.co/G0TxI5yb7d pic.twitter.com/nst10Eb2ru
— Izzy Erskine (@izzyerskine) 31 декабря 2018 г.
happy new year apparently it's still 2018 here in sydney ✨ pic.twitter.com/laLXA4vo89
— michelle (@michvllv) 31 декабря 2018 г.
You had one job.
— Bee (@BelindaJones68) 31 декабря 2018 г.
D'oh 🤦♀️#auspolhttps://t.co/ckavxJ3YM8 via @smh
"I knew that Australia had different time zones, but a whole year difference?" a Twitterian noted, voicing his surprise.
I knew that Australia had different time zones, but a whole year difference? https://t.co/mVtvR7hOWk
— Chris Rudiger (@ChrisRudiger) 31 декабря 2018 г.
Well, to everyone but those in Sydney: Happy 2019!
Sydney New Year's Eve festivities executive producer Anna McInerney made light of the error. "We just laughed about it. These things happen…It takes 15 months to organise an event of this size and scale. It was a mistake but we can clarify that it is actually 2019," she said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
An estimated one billion people worldwide are said to have tuned in to watch the otherwise terrific fireworks display, which brings the city hundreds of millions of dollars in tourism revenue each year.
Did you see the #CityofSydney spectacular 2018 Sydney New Year's Eve midnight fireworks tonight?
— Sydney.com (@sydney_sider) 31 декабря 2018 г.
Here are the @ABCTV highlights if you missed out. Better put 'Sydney New Year's Eve' on your 2019 resolution list now!#ilovesydney #sydNYE #cityofsydney #NYEABC
📹 @cityofsydney pic.twitter.com/tPDcyBTM1Y