Sacred art: A sculpture outside the Cultural Centre has been barricaded and wrapped in plastic to protect it from vandals.

Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho and Police have urged revellers to ring in the New Year tonight in an orderly and peaceful manner.

Up to 1,200 Police officers will be patrolling Tsim Sha Tsui's streets with about 200 stationed around the Cultural Centre, the scene of vandalism and littering by revellers on Christmas Eve. The mess took several days to clean.

Dr Ho appealed to the public to exercise self-control during their celebrations.

"While people are having fun I hope they will pay attention to public safety and respect public property," he said.

Police Acting Chief Superintendent Alan Fan said although the Force's priority in large-scale events was crowd management, it would assist other Government departments in arresting litterers and illegal hawkers if necessary.

"The Police commander at the scene will decide the appropriate action to be taken, including the issuing of warnings and summonses, or making arrests, when dealing with unruly behaviour," Mr Fan said.

"The aim is to ensure the event is conducted in an orderly and peaceful manner. We appeal to people to co-operate with the Police and follow the advice of officers."