The City of Melbourne is spending $2.8 million on New Year's Eve celebrations for the hordes heading to the CBD.
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It's not a small burden on the public purse, but lord mayor Robert Doyle says it's justified.
Cr Doyle said it would be the biggest fireworks display Melbourne has seen and that with 500,000 people are expected in the city "we have to make sure there's something for them to do".
The 14 tonnes of fireworks - half a tonne more than last year - will burst from 22 city rooftops in a 10 minute display from midnight, synchronised to music.
There will be new effects in the shapes of palm trees, peonies, dahlias and chrysanthemums.
Live music, food trucks and toilets will be placed at five locations in and around the CBD.
More than 100,000 people are expected at Yarra Park near the MCG for the 9.30pm children's fireworks session.
Activities for the four venues for the the midnight fireworks - the Treasury Gardens, Flagstaff Gardens, Docklands and Kings Domain - will operate from 9pm to 1am.
Cr Doyle said the city gained $7.6 million in economic value from last year's New Year's Eve extravaganza.
"So we're actually getting a three to one return on our investment.
"And we're a capital city. You celebrate things like New Year's Eve and you make sure that people have a great time."
Staging the pyrotechnical display costs $500,000, of which $200,000 is spent on the fireworks themselves. The remaining $2.3 million is spent on entertainment, logistics and security.
Cr Doyle said the large security effort would include police and other emergency personnel, private security guards, and council marshals on duty.
He didn't expect terrorism fears to cause a decline in crowd numbers.
