IT WAS a tale of two cities either side of the Severn last night, as Wales and England's approaches to the coronavirus pandemic led to very different scenes on New Year's Eve.
Revellers in Newport were few and far between – some pub owners had taken the decision to not open at all, perhaps in anticipation of lower footfall.
That is because the Welsh response to the current wave of Omicron variant infections has been to take new, targeted measures against businesses, including hospitality.
Nightclubs have been closed since Boxing Day, and pubs and restaurants told to reintroduce 'reasonable measures' to prevent the virus from spreading: table service, mask-wearing (unlesss seated), contact-tracing information, and the 'rule of six' for groups of customers have all returned in Wales.
In England, however, the government response to Omicron has been less severe, although even the switch to Boris Johnson's 'Plan B' for winter – which meant a return to mask-wearing in public places – drew fire from Conservative backbenchers.
But no restrictions have been imposed on hospitality in England, meaning pubs, restaurants and nightclubs there were all free to open, as normal, for New Year's Eve – a night that is typically one of the most lucrative of the year for trade.
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The scenes couldn't have been more different as the two cities prepared to see out 2021 and welcome 2022.
During a walk through Newport city centre at 10pm on December 31, there was hardly a soul to be seen.
Some pubs had decided not to open, and those premises deemed nightclubs by the Welsh Government had already been prevented from doing so under our current Alert Level Two restrictions.
On the door of one popular city-centre bar, a sign informed customers that the maximum number of people allowed inside had already been reached.
Other pubs that had opened had just a handful of people standing nearby as midnight approached.
But a 40-minute drive or train ride away, in the centre of Bristol, the city was jam-packed with New Year revellers.
Crowds of people could be seen in some of the city's most popular areas for nightlife, including large crowds of people queuing to enter bars and clubs where music was being played late into the night – something that would land a premises in Wales in very hot water with enforcement officers.
To see all our pictures comparing New Year's Eve in Newport and Bristol, take a look at the gallery at the top of the page.
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