From Sydney to Vladivostok, communities around the world have begun welcoming 2025 with spectacular light displays, hugs and ice dips.
Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, with thousands crowding downtown or climbing the city’s range of volcanic peaks to watch the fireworks. A light show that recognizes indigenous people.
South Pacific countries are the first to celebrate the New Year, with midnight arriving in New Zealand 18 hours before the ball drops in New York’s Times Square.
The conflict has clouded the New Year’s welcome in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine.
Fireworks went off from the Sydney Harbor Bridge and across the bay. More than a million Australians and others gathered on Sydney’s iconic harbor to celebrate. British pop star Robbie Williams led a solo with the crowd.
The celebration also included indigenous ceremonies and performances honoring the land’s first inhabitants.
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 is preparing for the Year of the Snake
Most parts of Japan are on lockdown ahead of the country’s biggest holiday, with temples and homes undergoing a thorough cleaning.
The upcoming Year of the Snake is heralded in the Asian zodiac as a year of rebirth, referring to the shedding of reptilian skin. Stores in Japan, which observes the zodiac cycle from January 1, sell snake-themed products. Other places in Asia will celebrate the Year of the Snake later with the Lunar New Year.
People visit Sensoji Buddhist Temple on New Year’s Eve in Tokyo, Tuesday, December 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae).
In South Korea, celebrations were scaled back or canceled during a period of national mourning following the crash of a Jeju Airlines plane on Sunday in Muan, killing 179 people.
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In Bangkok, Thailand, shopping malls competed for crowds with live music performances and fireworks displays. A performance by famous rapper Lisa, a Thai member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, was scheduled for shortly before midnight.
People gather in the main business district for New Year’s Eve in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, December 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana).
A fireworks display in Jakarta, Indonesia, in which 800 drones participated.
China and Russia exchange good will
Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a reminder of the growing rapprochement between the two leaders who face tensions with the West.
China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as telling Putin that their two countries “will always move forward side by side.”
Revelers ring in the New Year during a countdown event held in Beijing, Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan).
China has maintained strong relations and trade with Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022, which has helped offset 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 sever our ties.”
In his address to the nation, Putin said that Russia “set ourselves 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 quiet in Israel as its conflict with Hamas continues and dozens of hostages remain in captivity. Meanwhile, the extent of the famine in northern Gaza is difficult to assess, where thousands have fled an intensifying Israeli military crackdown that aid groups say has allowed barely any support to arrive since October.
Many areas in Lebanon suffered severe damage during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which ended in a fragile ceasefire. Meanwhile, Syrians expressed hope and uncertainty after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
In Dubai, thousands attended a fireworks display at Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world.
Emirati men stand on a promenade in front of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, before celebrating New Year’s Eve, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, December 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri).
Rome’s traditional New Year’s Eve celebrations have an added attraction: the start of Pope Francis’ Holy Year, a celebration that takes place once every quarter century and is expected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
On Tuesday, Francis will celebrate vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by Mass on Wednesday, where he is expected to once again call for peace amid the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
January 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the feast of the Virgin Mary.
The German leader calls for solidarity
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on residents to stick together despite the country’s faltering economy and a deadly Christmas market attack that shocked the nation.
“We are a country of togetherness. We can draw strength from this – especially in difficult times like these,” Schulz said in a pre-recorded speech.
Paris regains the Olympic spirit
Paris will conclude the important year 2024 with a traditional countdown and spectacular fireworks on the Champs-Élysées.
The Summer Olympics and Paralympics, hosted in the French capital from July to September, transformed the city into a site of joy, brotherhood and amazing sporting achievements. It also marked a milestone in its recovery from the deadly extremist attacks in 2015 launched by Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Britons are facing wintry weather
London is set to ring in the New Year with a fireworks display along the River Thames and a parade in the city center on Wednesday featuring 10,000 performers.
With a storm bringing bitter weather to other parts of the UK, celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland – including a Hogmanay Street party and fireworks display at the castle – have been cancelled.
But in Switzerland and some other places, people have embraced the cold, stripping naked and diving into the water at freezing temperatures.
Rio expects 2 million revelers
Rio de Janeiro will hold Brazil’s main party on New Year’s Eve on Copacabana Beach, with ferries carrying 12 consecutive minutes of fireworks. Thousands of tourists on cruise ships will witness the show up close.
More than two million people are expected to gather at Copacabana, hoping to attend concerts by Brazilian stars such as pop singer Anita and Grammy Award-winner Caetano Veloso.
American traditions ancient and modern
And in New York City, the organization that runs Times Square experienced the 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 by TLC, the Jonas Brothers and Rita. Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
Meanwhile, a fireworks show will be held in Las Vegas on the Strip, where 340,000 people are expected to attend as fireworks are shot off from the rooftops of casinos. Nearby, the massive Sphere site will debut a countdown to midnight in different time zones.
In Pasadena, excited Rose Parade spectators were camping out and hoping for prime spots. About 200,000 people flocked to a concert in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring a performance by some of country music’s biggest stars.
American Samoa will be among the last countries to welcome in 2025, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.
