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 an explosion injured three people.
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," 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.
