All set for party of the year AUSTRALIANS are preparing to celebrate the biggest party of the year, with the skies above the nation's capital cities expected to explode with colour on New Year's Eve. At the country's drawcard event in Sydney, seven tonnes of fireworks will light up the sky on Tuesday in the form of 11,000 aerial shells and 25,000 shooting comets launched from seven barges spread across six kilometres of Sydney Harbour. Organisers expect die-hard revellers to start arriving at the iconic new year's locale between 5am and 6am, Sydney New Year's Eve producer Aneurin Coffey said. "They are the really die-hard fans that get there early and then another group come about 8am," he told AAP. Keen boaties won't be taking any chances, with more than 2000 vessels expected to vie for an ideal spot from about 10am, he said. Sydneysiders will share the new year with more than 2,500 police officers expected to be deployed in the city on the night. Victorians will ring in the new year with a fireworks show promised to be seen from anywhere that has a view of the city skyline. More than 500,000 revellers are expected to pack the city centre, with 7.5 tonnes of fireworks to be launched from 22 locations, including city rooftops, by a team of 44 pyrotechnists. Brisbanites will see the state's largest fireworks show yet to welcome the new year. The skies above the river city will be lit up with five tonnes of fireworks, or 30,000 pyrotechnic effects, fired from three barges and three city rooftops at 8.30pm and midnight. In Tasmania, tens of thousands will converge on the waterfront and Salamanca, where the state's biggest food festival, Taste, combines with the finish to the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Fireworks will explode over the docks at 9.30pm and midnight as foodies gorge themselves. More than 70,000 revellers are expected at South Bank Parklands, Kangaroo Point, the Botanic Gardens and Eagle St Pier. SA will beat the new year's drum with some live music in Adelaide's Elder Park, where local bands will provide the entertainment on top of fireworks. Western Australia will largely leave its patch of sky alone on the night, with Perth saving up its pyrotechnics display for Australia Day.