IT is supposed to be the biggest party night of the century when Southampton will be marking the dawning of a new millennium with a huge fireworks display. But city residents are being advised - stay at home.

Fears raised by the city's emergency services mean that residents will be advised that the best place to view the Nightfire 2000 celebrations on millennium eve will be from home.

The Daily Echo understands that the plans for the once-in-a-lifetime party have had to be watered down after emergency services feared too many residents would try to congregate to watch the firework spectacular from Mayflower Park.

The police and health services feared that if thousands crowded onto the waterfront, which is the traditional location to view firework events, congestion could lead to tragedy.

Civic chiefs are now considering closing the park altogether for the night.

The fireworks will be let off from the dock head, a mile out into Southampton Water, to enable most residents in the city to view the pyrotechnics from the comfort of their own home.

Chief Supt Graham Wyeth said: "There were concerns about a large congregation of people on the waterfront. The fireworks can be adequately observed anyway from quite a radius on both sides of the water and there will be a number of other observation points for people to view them from."

At one point, concerns were so strong the council even considered scrapping the event entirely. Now, with just 49 days to go until the millennium, details of the event still haven't been given the formal go-ahead from councillors and officers are frantically drawing up last-minute plans to try and spread out those residents who refuse to party at home.

Alternative managed viewing points being considered are at Peartree Green and Weston Shore.

A council spokesman said independent experts had been called in to carry out a risk assessment of Nightfire 2000 and investigating emergency services' concerns. Their report will go to councillors next month.

Leisure chief Julian Price admitted: "We have had to make certain amendments based on that risk assessment."

This is the second time plans for the huge celebrations to usher in the new millennium have had to be amended.

Ambitious early plans to involve one of the Tall Ships, which will appear in the city as part of the race next year, had to be abandoned because details couldn't be confirmed.

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