00:00Well, Jeba, there is a very relaxed atmosphere here right now.
00:05People are taking naps in the sun, they're having picnics with friends to pass the time.
00:09There are 53 vantage points around the harbour and this is considered one of the best.
00:13This area can fit around 10,000 people and it reached capacity just before midday,
00:18so less than two hours after the gates opened at 10am.
00:22That's when we saw people scrambling to get a good spot.
00:25Some of them had been here since the very early hours of the morning queuing up.
00:29Now, they'll be here tonight as nine tonnes of fireworks are set off from city locations,
00:34including of course the harbour bridge and the Opera House, as well as six buildings in the city
00:38and platforms on the harbour and there's certainly a lot of excitement over what's to come.
00:44It's definitely a bucket list moment, so I wanted to experience that for a year now
00:50since I knew I was going to come to Sydney.
00:54It's just like a once in a lifetime experience.
00:57Like, I'm never going to be here again and watch the fireworks.
01:00So, it's going to be great.
01:02It will be a long wait.
01:03It will be a lot of chatting around, a lot of sitting around,
01:06grabbing something to eat, to drink and then looking forward to the end.
01:10And fee security has been ramped up in the wake of the Bondi attack.
01:17Yes, Gemma, there will be record numbers of police out and about today.
01:21We're told 3,000 in the Sydney metropolitan area alone and some of them will be carrying long-arm rifles.
01:27Now, that's not something you would usually see in Australia, but the police commissioner made a special request
01:32for some officers to be able to wear those weapons outwardly.
01:35He says this doesn't represent an increased risk to the public.
01:38Rather, it's about making people feel safe in the wake of the attack.
01:42The Premier, Chris Minns, has admitted that he is concerned that numbers will be down tonight,
01:47but he's urging people to get out and about and enjoy their lives.
01:52We can't be in a situation where this horrible criminal terrorist event changes the way we live in our beautiful city.
02:00We have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime
02:04and say that we're not going to be cowered by this kind of terrorism
02:09and we're not going to change the way we live our life in our beautiful city.
02:13And tonight there will be a special tribute to the victims of the Bondi attack.
02:16At 11pm, the harbour bridge will be lit up in white
02:20and an image of a menorah will be projected onto the pylons
02:23as the crowd observes a minute of silence, Gemma.
02:26Fiona Willen there, Mrs Macquarie's chair in Sydney. Thank you.
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