Scenes from the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2022.
Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Las Vegas will ring in the new year as it always does: with an array of bespoke shows and other entertainment opportunities, in addition to multiple, massive displays of fireworks.
And this year’s festivities will be bigger and better than ever before, officials say, while also making one bittersweet farewell.
The 2023 New Year’s Eve celebration will be the last such event in which Carolyn Goodman participates as mayor of Las Vegas. Her term ends in 2024.
Between the 12-year tenure of her husband, former Mayor Oscar Goodman, and her 12 years in the role since, she’s heralded in the new year for Las Vegas across 25 years, Goodman said, and it’s always been “extremely exciting.” She annually gives a toast with Oscar on one of the stages at Fremont Street Experience.
“It’s just been simply fabulous,” she told the Sun. “When we came here as relative newlyweds 60 years ago, believe it or not, it was to be part of having some opportunity — to participate in something beyond ourselves. And that sure has happened.”
Of the couple’s two-plus-decades in office, there’s been only one year — at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — when they did not get to celebrate New Year’s Eve with the rest of Las Vegas, Goodman said.
“It has just been a continuum and a sharing of the joy — of being part of this phenomenal community that has grown in reputation and quality of life and variety of endeavors,” she said. “It’s just been a remarkable experience.”
Safety, other logistics
More than 400,000 people are expected to visit the Strip or downtown Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve, Clark County Undersheriff Andrew Walsh said at a safety briefing late last week. Planning for this year’s event began shortly after last year’s, he said, and involves elected officials, first responders, the National Guard, private partners and more.
The Dec. 6 shooting at UNLV that resulted in the deaths of three professors is a stark reminder of how important it is for the first-responder community to always be prepared, Walsh said.
“I think when we all think back to recent events and the tragedy that occurred at UNLV, it’s a reminder to all of us that it doesn’t take a lot of sophistication — it doesn’t take a lot of complex planning, it doesn’t take a lot of coordination — to wreak havoc on our community,” he said.
A large contingent of officers will be stationed both downtown and on the Strip for the New Year’s Eve festivities, Walsh said. He declined to specify how many officers would be working New Year’s Eve, but added that “very few people will not” be.
As always, Walsh said, if you see something, say something.
“With everyone’s help and cooperation, we can make this New Year’s Eve celebration an enjoyable one,” he said.
No strollers, coolers, backpacks or glass bottles will be permitted on the Strip or on Fremont Street between 6 p.m. today and 6 a.m. Monday. Other large bags like luggage or computer bags will not be allowed, Walsh said, nor will any item larger than 12 by 12 by 6 inches.
Walsh said road closures on the Strip between Spring Mountain Road and Tropicana Avenue will begin at 6:30 p.m. today, and the off ramps at Interstate 15 and Flamingo Road will begin to close at 5:30 p.m.
Las Vegas Boulevard will be shuttered in all directions for vehicular traffic by 8 p.m., he said, though Spring Mountain and Tropicana will remain open for eastbound and westbound traffic.
Information about road closures will be updated in real time on social media, Walsh said.
To prepare for the street closures, 3,000 crowd control barricades will be put into place early morning today, and a convoy of street sweepers will make their way down the Strip to pick up 10 to 12 tons of trash after the party is over and before the intersections reopen, Clark County Commission Chairman Jim Gibson said.
“There’s no better place in the world to spend New Year’s Eve than right here,” said Gibson, who noted that medical assistance would also be close at hand on the Strip for anyone who needs it. “And it’s our top priority to make sure that this is as safe as humanly possible.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada will once again offer free rides on all transit routes from 6 p.m. today until 9 a.m. New Year’s Day.
The Las Vegas Monorail will also operate around the clock from 7 a.m. today to 2 a.m. Tuesday to help revelers to get home safely, Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft said.
In just 12 hours over the Christmas holiday, there were five area fatalities in four different crashes, Naft said.
“This community cannot tolerate that this New Year’s Eve,” he said, thanking local law enforcement and first responders for their coordinated efforts.
Clark County Fire Department Chief John Steinbeck echoed the sentiment, and also urged people participating in New Year’s Eve celebrations in Las Vegas to not underestimate the desert climate and dress warmly.
Bomb and special operations teams will be mobilized to ensure safety on New Year’s Eve, said Las Vegas Fire Chief Fernando Gray, who also noted that this was a very busy time for first responders.
“We responded to roughly about 1,400 calls just between the period of 6 p.m. last year on New Year’s Eve until about 2 o’clock in the morning,” he said, reiterating that people who have been drinking should either opt for a rideshare or other transportation options, or designate a qualified sober driver.
“The eyes of the world are always on Las Vegas,” Goodman said at a Thursday briefing, thanking everyone involved in the safety effort. “We are unique … and boy, have we grown to be big.”
‘More in ’24’
This year, Goodman herself will once again join revelers in downtown Las Vegas, where the “Time of Your Life” festival will take over Fremont Street, featuring appearances by bands like Third Eye Blind, Big Gigantic, Blackstreet and more.
The nearby Plaza will also have a pyrotechnic display, said Andrew Simon, president and CEO of the Fremont Street Experience, at an event earlier this month.
“This year, it’s a million-dollar bash that we’re putting on on Fremont Street,” Simon said.
Meanwhile, America’s Party 2024 on the Las Vegas Strip will culminate in an eight-minute fireworks show using 12,000 electrical circuits and nine resort rooftops — including the newly opened Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The display will deploy gold glitter aerial shells and other dazzling pyrotechnics, said Scott Cooper, director of business development for Fireworks by Grucci — which is returning to Las Vegas for a 19th New Year’s Eve — at an event Dec. 20 in the Fashion Show mall.
Officials at the same event unveiled this year’s America’s Party theme: “More in ’24.”
Headliners like Bruno Mars, the Black Eyed Peas, Post Malone and a slew of others will perform at various Strip resorts on New Year’s Eve and beyond. Other entertainment opportunities abound at nightclubs, event spaces and more.
“The town is just on fire,” Tim Keener, president of Las Vegas Events, said earlier this month. “We’re all fortunate to be a part of that community, and excited to see what is going to happen in ’24 and beyond.”
New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas has become a worldwide event, Goodman told the Sun, and the city is constantly growing due to its grip on gaming, entertainment and — increasingly — sports. And even as gaming becomes a more competitive industry, gaining traction in new markets nationwide, Las Vegas remains a top destination.
“I see a future here that is going to be challenging,” she said, “but it’s certainly going to sustain itself as the entertainment and hospitality center of the country — and probably the world.”
