Cities get ready to ring in the new year - weather permitting

Most council-run New Year's Eve celebrations are going ahead Sunday night, despite bad weather forecast for many areas.

Thunderstorms could cause havoc for those celebrating New Year's Eve in Canterbury.

MetService has issued a thunderstorm watch for Christchurch and the Canterbury Plains that will stay in place till midnight.

The weather agency warns there could be localised downpours of 25 to 40mm per hour and hail possibly larger than 20mm in diameter.

They said the rainfall could cause flash flooding and make driving hazardous.

In Wellington, the city council is still planning on holding its waterfront event, despite high winds which have seen several flights cancelled or unable to land.

Covers band Zephyr will be on stage at Whairepo Lagoon to start the festivities at 8pm. There will be a kids' countdown and short burst of fireworks at 9:30pm and the night and year will end with a larger fireworks display at midnight.

SkyCity in Auckland will welcome in 2024 with its annual midnight fireworks from the tower. There will be a 10-second countdown which will be projected onto the base of the tower, followed by a laser light and animation show, reflecting the 19 iwi of the region.

The display will last for five minutes and 30 seconds and feature 500 kilograms of pyrotechnics.

Some areas are cancelling their celebrations, though.

In Greymouth, a New Year's Eve party and fireworks display has been called off "due to the forecast weather conditions making it unsuitable to set up an outdoors concert".

In Tauranga, the city council said on Saturday it had made the decision to cancel five New Year's Eve community celebrations.

Fireworks displays planned there for 9:30 and midnight are still on schedule.

The Whangamata RSA on the Coromandel Peninsula is hoping for a bumper crowd to see in the New Year, thanks to a newly repaired road.

President Geoff Marsh said the reopening of the region's cyclone-damaged highway connecting the Coromandel's east and west coasts, has been a boon for the town.

Marsh said traditional cuisine and Thai food is available at the Whangamata RSA tonight and the dance band The Harleys will be playing.

A Queenstown bar manager said that town will be pumping this New Year's Eve, despite the blustery weather.

White hospitality group operations manager David Dwyer said the wind is due to die down this afternoon, and they are expecting big numbers through their handful of venues this evening.

He said the madness kicks off around 10pm with punters vying for a spot at Public Bar on the waterfront to watch the midnight fireworks, which is always a spectacle.

Dwyer said his team will be closing the doors soon after that, to give staff a well-deserved rest to kick off the new year.

In Gisborne, one business said the town is busy with festival-goers at the iconic Rhythm and Vines festival, which is held over three days at Waiohika Estate, north-east of Gisborne city.

Sarah Scott, manager at coffee company Raglan Roast, said their two locations had been slammed with customers, and the beaches were packed as temperatures hit the high 20s.

Scott said it was great to see the town busy again after a tough year. They should stay busy for the rest of January as holidaymakers flock to the town following the festival, she said.

But at Sunshine Brewery, festival goers were not stopping in for a pint and locals seemed to be staying away. Duty manager Maddie Ashworth said there was about double the usual traffic on the roads, but they had had fewer customers than expected.

"It normally is a lot more [busy] around this time, it's normally our busiest time of year, so hopefully in the next couple of days the locals will all be okay to come back into town again."

Mayor Rehette Stoltz said the vast majority of festival-goers had shown courteous behaviour, according to her daily updates from the police.

"There's a police presence which makes everyone feel safe and looked after, and the updates I have received is that the vast majority are here to have great fun, respect our place, look after each other and just have a good time together."

The police are also promising to have a strong presence across the country.

In a statement police said that "while they encourage people to enjoy themselves at celebrations, partygoers should be sensible and look after their mates to ensure everyone gets home safely".

If anyone feels unsafe or is worried about dangerous, illegal or suspicious behaviour, they should phone 111.