WORCESTER, Mass. - There may be momentum building to bring back a large-scale New Year’s Eve event in Worcester nearly eight years after the long-running First Night Worcester was shut down.

City Council Vice Chair Khrystian King is requesting City Manager Eric Batista work with the city’s cultural development officer on a report detailing prior efforts to restore First Night Worcester, as well as explore ways a similar event could be brought back to the city.

“They say that millions of people over the years came to First Night here in Worcester, and if there’s a will, if the city administration and the cultural division with the support of the council can find a way, we should absolutely do that,” King said.

For 35 years, First Night Worcester made the city a popular New Year’s Eve destination, with fireworks shows, live music and a wide showcase of Worcester culture.

There hasn’t been a citywide celebration since the clock hit midnight to ring in 2017, and First Night Worcester’s founder, Charlie Washburn, said it’s been sorely missed.

“One of our missions was to create an opportunity for people to experience art forms they wouldn’t necessarily be drawn to otherwise,” Washburn said. “Every year, I miss it. People say ‘What are you doing?’ And I say, ‘Well, I don’t have 36,000 of my nearest and dearest friends coming over for a party.”

When First Night Worcester announced plans to discontinue operations in May 2017, organizers including Washburn thanked the community for its continued support throughout the event’s 35 years. At the time, it was the second-longest running event of its kind in the country.

At the time, the city of Worcester and several other partners had expressed interest in continuing a New Year’s Eve event, but nothing matching the scale of First Night Worcester ever materialized.

“We’re missing an opportunity to celebrate Worcester as a cultural and civic hub, which I think is really what the First Night managed to do,” Washburn said.