'I will survive': 2020 slinks into history as fireworks light deserted streets

A woman sells a 2021 decoration at a popular entertainment street on New Year's Eve during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

(Reuters) -Fireworks soared into the sky above the Sydney Opera House, but the harbour below was a deserted ghost town, a fittingly creepy send-off for a year that will not be missed.

No light show illuminated Beijing from the top of the TV tower. St Peter's in Rome was almost empty for vespers. London's Trafalgar Square, Moscow's Red Square, Madrid's Puerta del Sol and New York's Times Square were all barricaded off.