(31 Dec 2020) Tourists are flocking to Nashville, Tennessee for New Year's Eve despite the bombing and curfew in place.
A bombing on Christmas Day in the heart of Nashville's tourist district hasn't deterred most tourists from visiting.
Although the number of visitors is down this year because of the pandemic, visitors from all over the country said they felt safe drinking, eating and shopping just blocks from where the explosion injured three people.
Shellie Young of Midland, Texas, said her family called and talked to locals in Nashville before deciding to go ahead with their plans to visit for the holiday.
"Well, we were worried or concerned that, is it you know a terrorist bombing? Exactly what type of bombing was it? So we were concerned about that, but we had called several different people here in Nashville to ask some questions and of course check the internet for any type of news updates to see what was going on," said Young.
Police have said the bomber died in the explosion, but a motive was still unclear.
Claudia Rodriguez, of Miami, said that they felt safe in Nashville.
"We wanted to make sure that by the time we got here, yesterday, the 29th, that the places would be open, that it would be a safe place and everything is OK. We were glad to hear that nobody was hurt, you know, badly hurt. We're very proud of the officers that took control. And we felt safe in going ahead and coming," Rodriguez said.
In past years the city has held fireworks, live concerts and college football bowl games that have brought hundreds of thousands of visitors and millions in tourism related revenue.
This year, the fireworks were canceled as well as a bowl game and bars will have to close before the ringing of the New Year at midnight because of COVID-19 curfew in the city.
That has angered some downtown business owners who have had to reduce hours and limit capacity.
Steve Smith, who owns a well known honky tonk called Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, held a press conference this week arguing that the city should reinstate normal hours for the bars.
"This goes past New Year's Eve," said Smith. "We need to be open every night until 2:30 in the morning. We're losing millions and millions of dollars down here on this street."
The city's New Year's celebration started as a large street party just over a decade ago and has grown into an event that draws over 200,000 people with live music from a diverse group of artists.
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