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The first places to welcome the New Year were the islands nearest to the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Tonga, and New Zealand.
In Australia, Sydney kicked off 2026 with its renowned fireworks extravaganza. The city showcased approximately 40,000 pyrotechnic displays spanning seven kilometers across its iconic landmarks and barges along the harbor. The event featured a stunning waterfall effect cascading from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Sydney’s midnight sky was ablaze with fireworks over the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, creating a mesmerizing spectacle.
This year’s celebrations were marked by heightened security measures, coming just weeks after a tragic shooting at a Jewish event in the city that claimed 15 lives. Police officers, unusually armed with long guns, were visibly present to ensure safety.
At 11 p.m., organizers paused for a minute of silence to honor the victims of the attack. During this solemn moment, the Harbour Bridge was illuminated in white, featuring a menorah—a symbol of Judaism—projected onto its pylons.
“After a tragic end to the year for our city, we hope that New Year’s Eve will provide an opportunity to come together and look with hope for a peaceful and happy 2026,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore said ahead of the event.
Bronze bell struck at midnight in Seoul
In Seoul, thousands gathered at the Bosingak bell pavilion, where a bronze bell was struck 33 times at midnight — a tradition rooted in Buddhist cosmology, symbolising the 33 heavens. The chimes are believed to dispel misfortune and welcome peace and prosperity for the year ahead.
Drones light up the night sky to celebrate the New Year in Busan, South Korea. Source: AP / Kang Sun-bae
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea’s tallest building in Seoul. Source: AFP / Jung Yeon-je
Drums at the Great Wall of China
An hour to the west, there were celebrations and a drum performance at the Juyong Pass, at the Great Wall of China just outside Beijing. Revellers wore headgear and waved boards emblazoned with “2026” and the symbol of a horse. February will mark the arrival of the Year of the Horse on the Chinese lunar calendar.
Dancers perform on stage as people celebrate the New Year 2026 at the Juyongguan Great Wall, Beijing. Source: AFP / Adek Berry
People celebrate the New Year on the beach in Sanya, Hainan Island, China. Source: EPA / Alex Plavevski
No fireworks in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, the annual New Year’s fireworks display was called off after the apartment complex blaze in November that killed 161 people. Instead, a light show with the theme of “New hopes, new beginnings” transformed facades in the Central district.
People gathered in the central area of Hong Kong to celebrate the countdown. Source: Getty / Man Hei Leung/Anadolu
Light shows across Asia
Bangkok lit up with a spectacular drone and fireworks display, with large crowds flocking to the downtown area of the Thai capital and lining the Chao Phraya river.
Bangkok hosted a fireworks show over the Chao Phraya River at midnight. Source: Getty / Lauren DeCicca
Celebrations also took place in many other bustling Asian cities, including Karachi in Pakistan, Manila in the Philippines and Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur.
Celebrations in Karachi, Pakistan, in the first moments of 2026. Source: Getty / Sabir Mazhar/Anadolu
Fireworks light up the sky as the Petronas Twin Towers are seen during New Year celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Source: Getty / Annice Lyn/Getty Images
Fireworks exploded over skyscrapers in Manila, Philippines. Source: Getty / Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, rang in 2026 with throngs of people, many holding umbrellas and braving showers, to watch light and fireworks displays.
Fireworks lit up the night sky at Hotel Indonesia Roundabout in Jakarta. Source: Anadolu / Getty
Performances and fireworks in the Middle East
Crowds of revellers rang in the new year in Qatar watching fireworks and vibrant music and performances along Lusail Boulevard in the capital, Doha.
An artist performs with fire at Lusail Boulevard during New Year’s celebrations in Doha. Source: NurPhoto / Getty Images
In Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, the world’s tallest building took centre stage for a fireworks display.
Fireworks explode around the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Source: AAP / Fatima Shbair/AP
Londoners brave chilly temperatures
Despite temperatures plunging below freezing in London, people still parked up on viewpoints around the city to wait for the iconic fireworks displays over central London at midnight.
Parliament Hill is a popular place to view London’s new year fireworks, a ticketed event which draws thousands to central London. Source: SIPA USA / Vernon Yuen
The extravagant display over the London Eye lit up world-famous landmarks like the Big Ben.
The clocks have struck midnight in the United Kingdom. Source: AP / Alberto Pezzali
Tickets were sold out for London’s fireworks display. Source: PA / Ben Whitley
Icy plunges in parts of Europe
Some brave souls in Santa hats took a plunge into the icy waters of Lake Bajer.
People swimming in Bajer lake before celebration of the New Year at noon in Fuzine, Croatia. Source: PA / Nel Pavletic
In Copenhagen, people stripped off to take part in the annual New Year’s dip, known as Nytaarsbad, in the Danish capital’s Islands Brygge Harbour Bath.
For some, it’s a tradition to go for a winter swim in Copenhagen’s open water harbour bath. Source: Getty / Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Ber
Swimmers also hit the water in Catania, Italy, for an annual New Year’s Eve swimming competition.
People participate in the 64th edition of San Silvestro a Mare, a traditional swimming competition held in the waters off the Ognina marina, in Catania, Italy. Source: EPA / Orietta Scardino
Brazil looks to break record, as revellers wait in New York
Similarly, on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro — albeit with warmer weather — staging was being set up for a massive music and fireworks party known as “Reveillon”. Organisers were hoping to beat their 2024 Guinness World Record for the biggest New Year’s Eve celebration.
Hopes for peace in Russia and Ukraine
In snowy Kyiv and Moscow, both Ukrainians and Russians prepared to see in the new year, expressing hopes of peace after nearly four years of conflict.
Many Russians spent the final hours of 2025 in Moscow at the historic Red Square. Source: Getty / Anadolu/Sefa Karacan
“I wish for the war to end, I think that this is the main and most important topic for our country,” said a woman in central Moscow who gave her name only as Larisa and said she had travelled from distant Altai Krai to see the Russian capital in the winter holidays with her family.
Many Ukrainians lamented that peace still seemed a distant prospect.
Ukrainians performed a traditional Ukrainian play on New Year’s Eve in Kyiv. Source: Getty / Anadolu/Danylo Antoniuk
But wrapped up warm and visiting a Christmas tree set up in front of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, nine-year-old Olesia was more optimistic.
“I think there will be peace in the new year,” she said.
Gaza farewells 2026 with ‘sorrow’
“We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief,” Gaza City resident Shireen Al-Kayali said. “We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror.”
Writing in the sand by Palestinian artist Yezid Abu Jarad as Palestinians watched the last sunset of 2026 on the beach in Gaza City. Source: Getty / Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/Anadolu
A Palestinian woman taking a selfie with her daughter along the beach during the final sunset of 2025 in Gaza City. Source: Getty / Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto
Displaced Palestinian youths perform a fire show atop the ruins of a destroyed building in Gaza City on 31 December. Source: Getty / Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto
Skies light up as clock strikes midnight across Europe
Fireworks filled the sky in Berlin, Rome, Athens and many other European cities as they entered the new year.
Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Brandenburg Gate during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Berlin, Germany. Source: EPA / Hannibal Hanschke
In the Netherlands, this grand fireworks display on one of Rotterdam’s most famous bridges, the Erasmus Bridge, has been held for over fifteen years. Source: SIPA USA / Iris van den Broek
Fireworks shot up all over Rome and its many iconic landmarks. Source: AP / Alessandra Tarantino
Fireworks burst over the Greek capital during New Year celebrations in Athens. Source: AP / Yorgos Karahalis
Numerous rockets and fireworks burst up all over the German city of Stuttgart. Source: Getty / Silas Stein/picture alliance
Celebrations in Lisbon, Portugal. Source: Getty / Zed Jameson/Anadolu
— With additional reporting from Reuters and Agence France-Presse
