New Year welcomed around the world

Nations around the world are welcoming the New Year as midnight strikes across different time zones.

The island of Kiritimati – an atoll in the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati – became the first place to enter 2026. One tourist there told us he marked it “on a beach with no satellites, no signs of human life, complete darkness and countless crabs”.

New Zealand soon followed by welcoming the New Year with fireworks in Auckland.

Then Australia lit up the sky over the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

In Sydney, celebrations were tempered by sadness as the nation reflected on the Bondi Beach attack on 14 December in which 15 people were killed.

At 23:00 local time, Sydney Harbour fell silent for a minute, with crowds holding lights to remember the victims of Bondi. A Jewish menorah was projected on to the pylons of the Harbour Bridge.

Elsewhere, there were more fireworks at Marina Bay Waterfront in Singapore.

Fireworks matched the brilliance of skyscraper lights in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Thousands lined the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok as Thailand welcomed the New Year.

In Dubai, people watched fireworks from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, following a performance with light displays, music and water jets.

In Hong Kong, spectators enjoyed live performances with fetching headwear.

The Juyongguan Great Wall was lit up in Beijing.

Laser lights dominated the night sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea’s tallest building in Seoul.

At the Bosingak pavilion in Seoul, artists performed during the New Year countdown.

A street performer showed off her fiery skills as part of the Procession of Light in Dublin before heading to the Matinee Countdown Concert in Dublin Castle.

In other parts of the world, nations marked the coming New Year with their own traditions.

On a nudist beach in Le Cap d’Agde, southern France, clothed and unclothed revellers took part in a traditional sea dip to mark the New Year’s celebrations.

Swimmers at Islands Brygge Harbour Bath in Copenhagen, Denmark, also braved the cold waters for a traditional splash, known as Nytaarsbad.

In Ommen, the Netherlands, local residents watched the annual carbide shooting – a New Year’s Eve tradition of turning milk cans into cannons.

In Osaka, Japan, young women dressed in traditional kimono took part in a Shinto ritual procession to mark the end of the year at Sumiyoshi Taisha, one of Japan’s oldest Shinto shrines.

Colourful runners braved the December air in Krakow, Poland, for the traditional Krakow New Year’s Run in the Old Town.

Adults and children performed a traditional dance to release the sun of 2025, and to welcome the sun of 2026, in in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia.