New Year's Eve crowds outside Our Tampines Hub miss 'anticlimactic' fireworks display
Patrons gathered outside Our Tampines Hub on Dec 31, who hoped to catch a glimpse of the mall's New Year's Eve fireworks display, were left staring into an empty sky as the display was only visible from inside the mall.
TikToker @husicmobby posted a video on New Year's Day, which has garnered over 161,700 views, showing a crowd of people holding up their phones in an effort to snap a shot of the fireworks.
A stray line of smoke escapes from the rooftop, while the camera pans to amused onlookers.
The mall was among seven heartland sites celebrating the countdown with fireworks that day.
In a Dec 15 post, Our Tampines Hub promoted a "dazzling fireworks display" at its countdown concert and encouraged visitors to book tickets for the event.
Videos of the celebration posted on Jan 1 showed the fireworks being set off at Town Square, a football stadium located within the mall — a sight also captured by TikTok user @tiramissu.m from a neighbouring building.
The fireworks were not the only sight drawing attention that day — a fire also broke out on a small patch of grass in the rooftop garden of the building during the celebration. In response to Stomp's queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that it was alerted to the incident at 12.05am on Jan 1, and no injuries were reported.
The mall's 2024 countdown celebration also received mixed reviews, with one visitor calling the fireworks display "underwhelming" and barely visible.
Stomp has reached out to Our Tampines Hub for comment.
'Fireworks at OTH are usually very low': Netizens recall previous events
Some netizens expressed dissatisfaction, calling the event "badly organised" and "anticlimactic".
Other visitors recalled that signs were put up to inform visitors that the fireworks would not be visible from outside. "Yup, fireworks at OTH are usually very low. Only those inside are able to see," said one.
One commenter felt the fireworks should be launched above the mall so more people could enjoy the display.
However, others still found the experience enjoyable. "It was so fun tho [sic] I loved how we all cheered every time we saw a glimpse of a spark of the fireworks," one netizen commented.
'All that for a few minutes of fireworks'
Meanwhile, thousands of revellers jostled to get home after the New Year countdown, having caught the fireworks display at Marina Bay Sands.
A video uploaded by @giselduck on Jan 1 showed massive crowds both inside and outside the mall shortly after midnight, as well as the congestion at Bayfront MRT station.
The clip has since racked up over 81,000 views and more than 180 comments, with many netizens voicing their frustration over the crowd situation.
Some questioned if enduring the crowd for fireworks was worth it, while others were glad to already be in bed.
"All that for a few minutes of fireworks," said one commentor.
