Prayut green-lights New Year celebrations amid prayers for Princess
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has reiterated that the government will not cancel New Year festivities, as the country prays for the recovery of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Narendira Debyavati.
Prayut told reporters on Monday that the business sector was free to go ahead with New Year countdowns and other events but asked them to proceed with “maximum caution”.
The PM was speaking after Bangkok’s Khao San Road scrapped its New Year’s countdown and Pattaya cancelled its December 29-31 fireworks display. Government and court offices have also called off New Year celebrations, while His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch has instructed Thai temples at home and abroad to hold special daily prayers for the Princess.
HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha is being treated for a heart-related condition at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok after losing consciousness on December 14.
Bangkok’s New Year’s Eve celebrations will go ahead with the “Amazing Thailand Countdown 2023” at Iconsiam next to the Chao Phraya River, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) confirmed on Friday.
