New Year celebrations: Massive crowd turns up at Bengaluru's Brigade Road, Church Street. Watch

New Year's Eve revellers at MG Road. (Image credit: @Ananthaforu/X)

As 2024 ticked away, about one lakh people took to the streets of Bengaluru's MG Road, Church Street, and Brigade Road on Tuesday night and erupted into a vibrant frenzy. Videos doing rounds on social media show revellers celebrating the new year at midnight with loud cheers and a dazzling showcase of lights and festive decorations.

More than 2,000 police personnel were deployed in the Central Business District area amid strict security measures put in place by the government and the police.

A massive crowd gathered at Church Street in Bengaluru to celebrate the New Year with great enthusiasm and joy. The vibrant street was packed with revelers who came together to welcome 2025 with excitement, music, and festivities. The atmosphere was filled with cheer as people pic.twitter.com/ds4AuIo81J
Karnataka Portfolio (@karnatakaportf) December 31, 2024

The Bengaluru Police had banned wearing scary masks and whistling loudly during the celebrations, but that did not appear to have dampened the mood of the revellers.

Bengaluru, Karnataka: People gathered at MG Road to celebrate the arrival of New Year 2025 pic.twitter.com/NCJMpuAuv8IANS (@ians_india) December 31, 2024

Security was also beefed up in Koramangala with more than 1,000 additional personnel. Several people took to social media to praise the police for their security arrangement. "I saw really heavy police bandobast on the way home from Koramangala at 7 pm. Thank you, Bengaluru City Police, for keeping Bengaluru safe," commented X user Ravi Joshi (@Joshi_Aar).

Scenes at Koramangala as hundreds of people gather to celebrate New Years Eve in Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/39Iqt6lpE3
Pushkar V (@pushkarv) December 31, 2024

The Bengaluru police had set up a mini control room to monitor CCTV footage from 150 cameras installed across areas of interest in the city. The use of masquerade masks was banned to prevent miscreants from targetting women and children while hiding their identity. “We want people to have fun ringing in the year with all gaiety, but not at the cost of a person’s safety or by causing discomfort. Last year, we confiscated these masks and party whistles that were being misused. This year, we have banned them completely," Additional Commissioner of Police Sathish Kumar told the media.