From Sydney to Vladivostok, communities around the world have started welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, hugs and ice dives.
Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, as thousands of people thronged the city center or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks to enjoy a vantage point of the fireworks. A light show recognized indigenous people.
Countries across the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight striking in New Zealand 18 hours before the ball kicks off in New York’s Times Square.
Conflict has dampened new year celebrations in countries including the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine.
Fireworks were set off over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and across the bay. More than a million Australians and others gathered on iconic Sydney Harbor for the celebration. British pop star Robbie Williams sang along with the crowd.
The celebration also included indigenous ceremonies and performances honoring the country’s first people.
Fireworks explode over the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Sydney, Wednesday January 1, 2025. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image via AP).
Asia prepares for the Year of the Snake
Much of Japan was shut down in the run-up to the country’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes were deep cleaned.
The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth – alluding to the shedding of the reptile’s skin. Japanese stores, which observe the zodiac cycle since January 1, sell snake-themed products. Other places in Asia will later mark the Year of the Snake with the Lunar New Year.
People visit the Sensoji Buddhist Temple on New Year’s Eve in Tokyo, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae).
In South Korea, celebrations were scaled back or canceled during a period of national mourning following Sunday’s crash of a Jeju Air flight in Muan that killed 179 people.
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In Bangkok, Thailand, shopping malls competed to attract crowds with concerts and fireworks. A performance by popular rap singer Lisa, a Thai member of South Korean girl group Blackpink, was scheduled for just before midnight.
People gather in the main business district on New Year’s Eve in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana).
A fireworks display in Jakarta, Indonesia featured 800 drones.
China and Russia exchange goodwill
Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, recalling the growing closeness between the leaders facing tensions with the West.
Xi told Putin that their countries would “always move forward hand in hand”, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Revelers celebrate the New Year during a countdown in Beijing on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan).
China has maintained strong ties and trade with Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022, helping to counterbalance Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Putin.
Xi also addressed Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by Beijing: “We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family. No one can ever break the bond of kinship that unites us.
In his address to the nation, Putin said Russia “set great goals and achieved them, and we overcame difficulties more than once because we were together.”
Conflicts cast a shadow over the Middle East
New Year celebrations are likely to be subdued in Israel as the conflict with Hamas continues and many hostages remain in captivity. Meanwhile, the scale of the famine is difficult to gauge in northern Gaza, where thousands have fled an intensifying Israeli military crackdown that humanitarian groups say has allowed virtually no support supplies since October .
Many areas of Lebanon were heavily damaged during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended in a fragile ceasefire. Syrians, meanwhile, have expressed hope and uncertainty following the overthrow of leader Bashar Assad.
In Dubai, thousands of people watched a fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world.
Emirati men stand on the promenade in front of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, before the New Year’s celebration, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, December 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri).
Rome’s traditional New Year festivities have an added attraction: the start of Pope Francis’ Holy Year, the once-in-a-quarter-century celebration expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
On Tuesday, Francis will celebrate vespers at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by Mass on Wednesday, during which he is expected to again call for peace amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
January 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the solemnity of Mary.
German leader calls for solidarity
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on residents to stay united despite the country’s struggling economy and the deadly Christmas market attack that shocked the nation.
“We are a country of solidarity. And we can draw strength from it, especially in difficult times like these,” Scholz said in a pre-recorded speech.
Paris regains the Olympic spirit
Paris will close a memorable 2024 with its traditional countdown and its big fireworks show on the Champs-Élysées.
The Summer Olympics and Paralympics held in the French capital from July to September have transformed the city into a place of joy, brotherhood and astonishing sporting feats. It also marked an important step in its recovery from deadly 2015 extremist attacks by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
Britons face wintry weather
London is set to celebrate the New Year with a fireworks display along the River Thames and a parade through the city center on Wednesday with 10,000 performers.
Due to a storm bringing gloomy weather to other parts of the UK, festivities in Edinburgh, Scotland, including the Hogmanay Street Party and the Castle Fireworks Show, have been cancelled.
But in Switzerland and other countries, people have embraced the cold, stripping naked and diving into water in freezing weather.
Rio expects 2 million revelers
Rio de Janeiro will hold Brazil’s main New Year’s Eve party on Copacabana Beach, with offshore ferries carrying 12 straight minutes of fireworks. Thousands of tourists aboard cruise ships will witness the spectacle up close.
More than 2 million people were expected at Copacabana, hoping to attend concerts by superstar Brazilian artists such as pop singer Anitta and Grammy Award winner Caetano Veloso.
American traditions old and new
In New York, the organization that runs Times Square tested its famous ball drop and inspected 2,025 numbers, lights and thousands of crystals as part of a tradition dating back to 1907. This year’s celebration will include musical performances from TLC , Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Fireworks Show will take place on the Strip, with 340,000 people expected as fireworks are launched from casino rooftops. Nearby, the massive Sphere Room will display countdowns to midnight in different time zones for the first time.
In Pasadena, enthusiastic Rose Parade spectators camped out and hoped for prime spots. And some 200,000 people gathered for a party in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring a performance from some of country music’s biggest stars.
American Samoa will be among the last to welcome in 2025, 24 hours after New Zealand.
