Shocking footage showed huge crowds overwhelming train stations as tens of thousands of Aussies tried to get home after New Year's Eve celebrations.
Sydneysiders rang in the New Year in style on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands of people gathering on the harbor to watch the city's iconic fireworks display.
More than 225,000 people crowded 49 viewpoints across the city to watch the midnight fireworks.
The stunning display of light and color – which heralded 2024 – included more than 8.5 tonnes of fireworks and 80,000 pyrotechnic effects.
However, the huge crowds caused chaos for commuters, with many spending hours in the city trying to get home after the 12-minute fireworks display.
Videos shared on social media showed the crowd coming to a standstill as hundreds of people waited for a train
Tens of thousands of people crowded Sydney's streets and train stations as they tried to get home after watching the New Year's Eve fireworks on the harbour. It took about four hours to get home as public transport was swamped by the huge crowds
Authorities planned another 1,000 trains and 1,258 bus services and increased the frequency of light rail and metro services in anticipation of the huge crowds.
Footage shared on social media showed crowds coming to a standstill in city streets as they tried to get to a train station.
Videos shared on TikTok on Monday showed the streets around Circular Quay station packed with people.
One video titled: 'I Just wanna go home' showed the crowd still going strong at 2am – long after the fireworks had ended.
The reveler who filmed the chaos explained that the commute was “wild” and it took her three hours to get home.
Other videos showed the streets of Sydney packed with people, with one video saying 'send help'.
Another reveler who filmed the chaos of the commute claimed they didn't get home until 4am, claiming in the caption of their video that it would “take a lot longer to get home than it would take to get in line to stand' to get to one of the fireworks viewing points.
Another video showed Sydneysiders squeezing into the standing room of a carriage hoping the doors would close
A Sydneysider revealed they had to wait until 2.40am when the harbor bridge reopened before they could start their journey home.
Social media users mocked the attendees, with many asking revelers if facing the crowds was “worth it.”
'12 minutes Oooh Ahhhh and then 5 hours of pushing and pulling to get back to Central Quay for the ride home with the sardines. Sydney Experience,” one person wrote.
“The best way to get home from the fireworks in Sydney is not to go to the fireworks in Sydney,” someone else joked.
“All that for ten minutes of average fireworks,” a third commented.
'I did this once thirteen years ago, it was so bad then and that's why it never bothered me again. Watch it on TV from now on,” a fourth added.
Once the revelers reached the train station platform, they had to wait for a train, which was packed and had barely any standing room.
Another video showed Sydneysiders squeezing into the standing room of a carriage hoping the doors would close.
Similar scenes were seen in Melbourne as thousands of people packed Flinders Street Station.
The platforms of Melbourne's Flinders Street Station were packed with thousands of people trying to catch the train home after New Year's Eve celebrations (pictured)
The video, shared on Melbourne's Platform X account on Monday, showed the Flinders Street Station platform packed with people, some even carrying their children on their shoulders.
One person noted that it took his friend four hours to get home by train after waiting on the platform.
However, some Sydney partygoers decided to head to Bondi Beach for a sunrise dip in the New Year instead of heading home.
The seaside was full of people, as some continued their evening of celebration by dancing on the sand, while others relaxed as they enjoyed the first light.
Eager beachgoers also stripped down to their underwear and dashed across the famous golden sands, before bracing themselves in the icy water.