深夜にセリーヌ・ディオンの曲を爆音で流し「バトル」、住民大迷惑　ＮＺ

【ウェリントンＡＦＰ＝時事】ニュージーランドの首都ウェリントン北郊で、「マイ・ハート・ウィル・ゴー・オン」などセリーヌ・ディオンの名曲を大音量で延々と深夜まで車から流して競い合う「サイレン・バトル」が行われており、住民を悩ませている。（写真はセリーヌ・ディオン〈資料写真〉）
　人口約６万人の小都市ポリルアの住民は、午前２時に睡眠を妨害されれば、たとえ名曲であっても魅力はあせると口をそろえる。
　アニタ・ベイカー市長は２６日、ＡＦＰの取材に対し、「頭痛の種だ」と話した。
　現地メディアによると、「サイレン・バトル」の参加者は大型のサイレンスピーカーを車や自転車に取り付け、音の大きさを競い合う。太平洋諸島にルーツを持つ参加者が多いという。
　バトル参加者は「セリーヌ・ディオンが大好き」で「高音で声量がある」歌声を好むとベイカー氏は語った。
　ベイカー氏によると、バトルは早ければ午後７時から始まり、遅い時には午前２時まで続く。駐車場に集まり、エンジンをふかしながら大音量で曲の４分の１ほどだけ流し、警察が来る前に逃げるという。
　バトルの開催は不定期で、曜日も決まっていない。
　署名サイト「ｃｈａｎｇｅ．ｏｒｇ」では、ポリルア市にバトル禁止を求める訴えにこれまでのところ３００人近くが署名した。
　ベイカー氏は署名運動とは別に、市にはすでに多数の電子メールや苦情が寄せられていると指摘する。
　ニュージーランドでは少なくとも７年前から各地でサイレン・バトルが始まった。
　ベイカー氏によるとポリルアでは、昨年１１月のラグビー・リーグ・ワールドカップでサモアが決勝戦に進むとサポーターが深夜に音楽を流して祝った。それ以来、お祭り状態がずっと続いている。
　ベイカー氏はバトルを見学したことがある。人気の理由と楽しさは理解できるが、今後は警察と相談し解決策を模索すると語った。
　「騒音のせいで街から引っ越すということはあってはならない。それは容認できない」と強調した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/10/27-16:53）

Car drivers armed with a playlist of Celine Dion songs have been plaguing residents of a small New Zealand city for months on end with loud, late-night siren battles.
The beloved Canadian singer's melodies lose their charm when blared at high volume as late as 2 am, say the sleepless residents of Porirua, north of Wellington and home to 60,000 people.
It's a headache, Porirua Mayor Anita Baker told AFP on Thursday.
Siren battles have erupted in parts of New Zealand for at least seven years.
Local media have reported on contestants -- often people with family links to Pacific Island nations -- using large siren-type speakers on cars and even bicycles to drown each other out with their powerful systems.
They love Celine Dion, the mayor said.
They like anyone with a high pitch and great tone in their voice, she said.
In Porirua, people have had enough of hearing the power ballads, including My Heart Will Go On and It's All Coming Back To Me Now.
The contests start as early as 7 pm and can go on until as late as 2 am, the mayor said.
It's really loud music. They only play a quarter of the song, so it's like having a turntable and it comes screeching out.
Competing cars park with their engines running, blasting out music before moving to avoid police, Baker said.
- 'Not getting any sleep' -
It's happening down in our city centre, which is like a basin, so the noise just goes out like a drum to all the suburbs, she said.
People are just not getting any sleep, because it's all hours.
Nearly 300 disgruntled residents have so far signed a petition on the website change.org demanding Porirua City Council put a stop to it.
There is a petition coming my way, but I have already had lots of emails and complaints through, Baker said.
One resident, Diana Paris, wrote on the petition she was sick of the noise.
Although I enjoy Celine Dion in the comfort of my lounge and at my volume, I do not enjoy hearing fragments of it stopping and starting at any time between 7 pm and 2 am, she said.
Baker said the late-night music sessions started in November 2022 during the Rugby League World Cup when local fans celebrated Samoa's run to the final.
We had a parade down here and they have just continued on. Summer is starting and they are back.
There are no set nights when the high-decibel music will start up, she said. It's absolutely random now and it can be any day of the week.
Baker has attended organised siren battles.
I can see why they like them, they are a bit of fun. There were families watching and it finished at 10 pm, not one or two in the morning when people need to sleep.
The mayor said she would meet with police to find a resolution.
We don't want people leaving the city because of the noise. That's unacceptable, she said.