Officials with the City of Calgary say they are watching the forecast closely as the New Year's Eve celebration closes in, adding that they have a contingency plan in case a weather warning is called.

The outdoor celebration, scheduled to take place at Olympic Plaza on December 31, is expected to feature a number of live performances, a children's dance party, fireworks and the traditional countdown at midnight.

However, if conditions get colder than they have been in the past few days, the city says it may need to adjust its strategy.

"Public safety is always the number one factor for City of Calgary events; we want to make sure that people are safe, warm and taken care of. So with that, we are going to be keeping an eye on Environment Canada on where the temperatures are taking us and wind is going to be that contributing factor that decides that for us."  Teresa Byrne, superintendent of festivals and events with the City of Calgary, says.

Byrne says that a 40 km/h wind would have an impact on the countdown ball and the fireworks, but it would also bring the wind chill down to about -30 degrees.

"We know that's going to be a little bit too cold for people and would put them at risk."

She says that if weather takes a turn for the worse, the children's dance party and the kids' countdown in the City Hall atrium would still proceed as planned but they would need to play the rest of the event 'by ear'.

"We just hope that everyone, when they do decide to come down, that they dress warm; boots, hats, mitts, scarves. Take public transit; trains are running until 3:00 a.m. Make sure you check the schedules so that you know how to get home safely."

Officials with the Calgary Zoo say that they already made adjustments to the Zoolights event by moving a number of the outdoor activities inside the ENMAX Conservatory.

Meanwhile, the federal government has been mulling the idea of cancelling Ottawa's New Year's Eve celebration on Parliament Hill.

On Friday morning, the government posted a notice on the official website for the event that it would be cancelled, but soon removed the word 'cancelled', leaving many to wonder about it's status.

The big party is supposed to include dancing and skating along with a multimedia show featuring pyrotechnics and lasers and music from various DJs, the website said. Canadian hip-hop star Kardinal Offishall is also slated to perform at the celebration.

Andrew Campbell, the senior executive director in charge of the Canada 150 secretariat, told The Canadian Press that a decision will be made soon. He said organizers are concerned about equipment malfunctioning during the fireworks and multimedia shows because of the cold.

CTV Calgary will be livestreaming the New Year's Countdown from Municipal Plaza starting at 11:30 p.m.

(Wth files from CTVNews.ca)