The most recent celebrations, which took place at both the Octagon and George St, featured a host of local entertainment, including Seek Help!, Deaf Raccoon and Ivy, along with the 12-piece Otepoti All-Stars band and MC Alan Ned Gray.
But there have been murmurs about the lack of fireworks or light show — or anything, really — to acknowledge the passing of 2025.
Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker was among the revellers in the Octagon who felt it needed something to cap off the evening.
"I had sort of expected a bit of a light show or something like that, given that we had made a decision not to have fireworks."
That decision was largely down to wanting to keep Dunedin’s reputation as "the wildlife capital of New Zealand", along with the fact they were going to cost $45,000, Ms Barker said.
"Those are things that we need to consider as well.
"So, I would like to see a light show of some sort at midnight because there was one that was projected on to the Regent Theatre a few years ago."
The council will host a survey about what the public wants to see in the New Year celebrations.
Ms Barker said the survey responses would be crucial to determining how the entertainment would fare in future.
"I was there at midnight and I do believe it needs a strong review.
"We need to actually encourage people to take part in that review, because it should be about what people want for their New Year’s Eve."
This time around, the council held two New Year celebrations, with children’s activities held earlier in George St.
Initial impressions were that it ran smoothly, but that, too, would likely be reviewed, Ms Barker said.
"I guess it was a little bit away from the main Octagon, so my concerns would just be around what it’s costing to run two separate road closures, all that kind of stuff, because we have to be fiscally responsible in our fun as well.
"So the thing that we need to think about is how can we get everyone involved, and does it involve one place or two places?"
She expected council staff to compile the results of the survey and present them in a report to the council later in the year.
An attempt to reintroduce fireworks was voted down 9-6 in April last year and council staff were asked to look into a "re-imagination" of the celebration.
At the August council meeting to decide the format for the New Year celebrations, Cr Brett Weatherall told councillors he wondered if the lack of a fireworks crescendo might leave the event "somewhat compromised".
Dunedin City Council events team leader Dan Hendra said the feedback he had received so far had largely been very positive.
Asked about the lack of fireworks or light show, he said it was "experimenting with things each year".
There was a desire to "champion youth" at events such as this when it came to picking a lineup, he said.
"We do so in New Year’s Eve, George St markets and Sunday Sounds.
"As a whole, we’re really quite blessed with a lot of young talent in the city."
Holding two separate celebrations and bringing them together was new for everyone, but he felt it ran well, Mr Hendra said.
As for changes to New Year’s Eve celebrations, it was "too early to say".
