Which country celebrates New Year first and who’s last?

NEW Year is one of the most exciting holidays in the world, as people across the globe reflect on and celebrate the year that just passed.

In London, the arrival of 2026 will be marked by Big Ben’s famous “bongs” at midnight, followed by an the UK’s largest annual fireworks display near the London Eye.

However, not every country celebrates New Year at the same time as the UK. So which countries are the first and last to ring in the new year?

London is known for its incredible New Year celebrations

Australia is one of the first countries to ring in the New Year

Which country celebrates New Year first?

The UK sits on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which is used as the internationally standardised time format.

In other words, GMT is the baseline time zone and other time zones are measured by how much they deviate from GMT.

Because of this, while all countries celebrate the arrival of the new year at midnight, it may seem as though they celebrate earlier or later than the UK.

Generally, Britons look to Australia as the first country to see in the New Year but there are several other countries which beat it to the punch.

Kiritimati Island – also known as Christmas Island – and a string of 10 other mostly uninhabited islands in the central Pacific Ocean will have been the first to ring in 2026.

Tonga, New Zealand and Samoa all celebrate the New Year, before Eastern Australia and then Central Australia.

Where will the New Year arrive last?

Generally, countries furthest to the west on a UK map will be the last to ring in the New Year.

Two uninhabited islands named Baker Island and Howland Island, southwest of Hawaii, will be the last to see 2026 in.

The USA is one of the last countries to celebrate the arrival of the new year, with New York and Washington D.C. having to wait until 5am GMT to ring in 2026.