Wangaratta’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display looks set to be cancelled, after the fireworks contractor struggled to gain insurance to cover the event.

Mayor of the Rural City of Wangaratta Dean Rees said they had been gearing up for a unique event this year.

“It’s a strange situation, we were all geared up, we were ready to go,” he told Heidi Murphy on 3AW Drive.

“We had three secret locations to be COVID-safe.

“We have been advertising and marketing this big campaign and all of a sudden our fireworks provider have come back and said we can’t do it, they’ve gone to every insurance company.”

He said he believed it was in part due to a fire risk.

“The insurance companies are really tightening up at at the moment.

“We have had a really bad year … and now one thing to look at saying good bye to 2020 and hello to 2021 with a unique fireworks display in three locations compared to us normally doing one, and all of a sudden we were hit with this.”

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