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Many cities are vying for recognition as the first to greet the millennium, but Vancouver humbly bills itself as one of the last major centers to salute the new era. Being last has its advantages. "That makes Vancouver a great place to have the longest celebration possible," boasts Tom Esakin, president of Millennium Vancouver 2000. To keep the party going for everyone, MV2000 is focusing on community building with the motto A BETTER CITY, FOR A BETTER WORLD, IN A BETTER FUTURE.
The search is on for ideas to create a lasting legacy, says Esakin, "so that when we're all long gone, people will look back and say, 'These people left us gifts that keep on giving.'" Ideas on the drawing board: a park project, a work of art, a time capsule.
In celebration of the city's multicultural heritage, Vancouver is linking up by satellite with London, Tokyo, Beijing, Berlin, Sydney, New York City and Rio for a 24-hour global toast. The locally renowned "low-tech magic" performers, Public Dreams Society, are coordinating with other community groups to design an interactive spectacle featuring live music and stilt dancers, whose costumes will literally burst into flames. There will be a black-tie gala, at least two fireworks displays and a laser light show. And to ensure that no one goes hungry, food will be served to the needy on the downtown east side. Throughout the day, all 23 of the city's community centers will offer free family events.
When it's all over, MV2000 has designated Jan. 3 for a Multifaith Service of Celebration to revive the spirits of spent revelers. Organizers envision an event at which everyone from any faith will dance, sing, drum and break bread--or pita, bagels and wafers, for that matter.
ME-FIRST FEVER
A century ago, the International Meridian Conference did Fiji a favor. The conferees laid out the international date line along the 180th meridian but put an eastward kink in it to keep the people of the far-flung islands of the Fijian archipelago on the same page of their day planners. Now Fijians are calling that good turn a bad one. Repudiating the date line as an artificial construct, they claim their country, which straddles the 180th line of longitude, will be the first to greet the year 2000.
Right or wrong, Fijians are positively infected with me-first fever. The centerpiece of their New Year's Eve preparations is the installation of a Meridian Wall and monument along the 180th longitude, where it crosses Udu Point on the island of Vanua Levu. Sealed within the estimated 100,000 bricks of the wall will be vials containing messages from around the world. The wall will be one of the starting points of a Unity Torch Relay, beginning Dec. 25 and finishing at the capital, Suva, on New Year's Eve.
In the week surrounding the New Year (from Dec. 26 to Jan. 3), a World Festival of Praise will be held in Suva. Millennium Hibiscus Celebrations, beginning Dec. 21, will honor Fiji's ethnic diversity, culminating in the coronation of the Hibiscus Millennium Queen in the capital at the moment when 1999 becomes 2000.