Wellington, New Zealand — Auckland has become the first major city to welcome 2025 with thousands of revelers counting down to the New Year and enjoying colorful fireworks launched from New Zealand's tallest structure, the Sky Tower, and a spectacular light show in the city centre.
Thousands of people also flocked downtown or climbed the city's ring of volcanic peaks to watch fireworks and a light show recognizing Oakland's indigenous tribes. It comes after a year marked by protests against Maori rights in the nation of 5 million.
South Pacific countries will be the first to ring in the new year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the start ball drop in Times Square in New York.
Reuters
Other cities around the world were gearing up for celebrations celebrating local cultures and traditions after a year marred by conflict and political instability.
In Australia, more than 1 million people gathered to watch the traditional fireworks in Sydney Harbour. British pop star Robbie Williams led the chants and indigenous ceremonies and performances were planned to recognize the land's first people.
SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty
Much of Japan shut down ahead of the country's biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning, including beating mats called “tatami” with large sticks.
The upcoming year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac has been declared a year of rebirth – hinting at the reptilian shedding its skin. Shops in Japan, where the zodiac cycle starts on January 1st, sell tiny smiling snake figurines and other snake-themed items. Elsewhere in Asia, the Year of the Snake will begin to be celebrated later, with the Lunar New Year.
In South Korea, celebrations have been shortened or canceled as the country observes a period of national mourning after Sunday the Jeju Air flight crash in Muan 179 people died.
Jakarta's New Year celebration will be accompanied by a dazzling fireworks display, including a drone show featuring 800 drones, followed by a countdown to midnight at the iconic Indonesia Roundabout Hotel.
Celebrating the New Year amid war and strife
Chinese state media covered the exchange of New Year greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, recalling the growing intimacy between the two leaderswhich face tensions with the West.
Xi told Putin that their countries “will always move forward hand in hand,” the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
China maintains ties and reliable trade with Russia after the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022, helping offset Western sanctions and efforts to isolate Putin. New Year's holidays, most likely, will be spent in silence Israel as its war with Hamas in Gaza grinds through the 15th month and dozens of hostages remain in captivity.
Lebanon is in the grip of a severe economic crisis, and many areas have been badly damaged during the war, which ended in a shaky ceasefire. Meanwhile, Syrians express hope and uncertainty about the coming year after the overthrow of longtime dictator President Bashar al-Assad.
Other celebrations around the world
In Dubai, thousands of people are expected to attend the annual fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper.
Traditional New Year celebrations in Rome have another attraction: the start of Pope Francis' Holy Year, a quarter-century celebration that is projected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
Francis will celebrate vespers at St. Peter's on Tuesday, followed by Mass on Wednesday, when he is expected to make another appeal for peace amid the wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Hours before Germany welcomes the New Year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged the country's 84 million people to stick together despite multiple world crises and wars, the country's ailing economy and a deadly attack on a Christmas market which shocked the nation.
“We are a country of unity. And we can draw strength from that — especially in these difficult times,” Scholz said in his pre-recorded speech.
Paris will end the eventful year 2024 with its traditional festive countdown and fireworks on the famous Champs-Élysées.
The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games held in the French capital from July to September, transformed the city into a place of joy, brotherhood and amazing sporting achievements and marked another milestone in its recovery from the deadly extremist attacks of 2015. by al-Qaeda and ISIS.
London is set to ring in the New Year with a pyrotechnic show along the River Thames and a parade through the city center on Wednesday featuring 10,000 performers. Fireworks will explode against the backdrop of the London Eye, the huge Ferris wheel across the river from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament – provided high winds and bad weather, which is expected to be much worse in the north of the UK, does not force a last minute cancellation a minute.
However, with the storm forecast to bring bitter weather to the north of the UK, celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland – including the famous Hogmanay Street Party, garden concert and castle pyrotechnics – were canceled in advance.
Rio de Janeiro will host Brazil's premier New Year's Eve party on Copacabana Beach with 10 ferries carrying fireworks for 12 minutes straight. Thousands of tourists on six cruise ships will witness the show up close.
Rio City Hall has closely guarded its plans for a light and sound display. More than 2 million people are expected to descend on Copacabana, hoping to squeeze in concerts by superstar Brazilian acts such as pop singer Anita and Grammy Award winner Cayetano Veloz.
Times Square and around the US
In New York, the organization that runs Times Square experienced its famous ball drop and saw 2,025 numbers, lights and thousands of crystals as part of a tradition that dates back to 1907. This year's celebration will include musical performances by TLC, the Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
The party, which spans several blocks around the city's main tourist and theater center, is expected to draw a large crowd despite the rain and cold weather.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas will bid farewell to some old — and some new — traditions in 2024. Its annual eight-minute pyrotechnics show will take place on the Las Vegas Strip, with 340,000 people expected as fireworks are set off from the rooftops of nine casinos.
Nearby, the huge Sphere venue will display countdowns to midnight in different time zones for the first time.
In Pasadena, enthusiastic Rose Parade spectators had to camp out on the cold streets to ring in the New Year in hopes of better seats for the iconic Southern California tradition. The parade precedes the Rose Bowl football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks on January 1.
Thousands of people will take part in the 5km northern race along the parade route.
An estimated 200,000 people will flock to Nashville to party with a five-hour show from some of country's biggest stars. At midnight — an hour after nightfall in New York City — the 16-foot, 400-pound note will fall as fireworks light up the sky.
Celebrations will echo around the world as the new year approaches across time zones, with American Samoa one of the last to welcome 2025 – a full 24 hours after New Zealand.