The New Year has been welcomed in New Zealand as 2025 dawns in the South Pacific – and the rest of the world prepares

Wellington, New Zealand Auckland has become the first major city to ring in 2025, with thousands of revelers counting down to the New Year and cheering on colorful fireworks launched from New Zealand’s tallest building, the Sky Tower, and a stunning light show in the city centre.

Thousands also crowded downtown or climbed the city’s chain of volcanic peaks to watch fireworks and a light show to learn about Oakland’s indigenous tribes. This comes after a year that saw protests over Maori rights in the country of 5 million people.

South Pacific countries are the first to celebrate the New Year, as midnight falls in New Zealand 18 hours before the New Year. Ball drop in Times Square in New York.

Other cities around the world were preparing to hold celebrations highlighting local cultures and traditions, after a year filled with ongoing conflict and political instability.

In Australia, more than a million people are now expected to arrive in Sydney Harbor to watch the traditional fireworks. British pop star Robbie Williams will lead a concert, and indigenous celebrations and performances will honor the Earth’s first inhabitants.

Much of Japan closed down ahead of the country’s biggest holiday, with temples and homes undergoing extensive cleaning, including beating floor mats called “tatami” with large sticks.

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 small figures of smiling snakes and other snake-themed products. Other places in Asia will begin celebrating the Year of the Snake later, with the Lunar New Year.

In South Korea, celebrations have been reduced or canceled as the country witnesses a period of national mourning after Sunday Jeju Airlines plane crashes in Muan Which killed 179 people.

Jakarta’s New Year celebrations will include a dazzling fireworks display, including a drone display featuring 800 drones, followed by a countdown to midnight at the city’s iconic Indonesia Roundabout Hotel.

Commemorating New Year’s amid war and conflicts

Chinese state media covered the exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a reminder The growing rapprochement between the two leadersWho face tensions with the West.

China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that Xi told Putin that their countries “will always move forward side by side.”

China has maintained strong relations and trade with it Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine In 2022, which helps offset Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Putin.

New Year’s celebrations are likely to be quiet Israel, such as its war with Hamas in Gaza The fifteenth month has passed and dozens of hostages are still in captivity.

Lebanon is suffering from a severe economic crisis, and many areas were subjected to severe damage during the war, which ended in a fragile ceasefire. Meanwhile, Syrians express hope and uncertainty about the coming year after the war The overthrow of long-time dictator President Bashar al-Assad.

Other celebrations around the world

In Dubai, thousands are expected to attend the annual fireworks display at Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world.

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 raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Hours before the New Year in Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on the country’s 84 million people to stick together despite the numerous crises and world wars, the country’s faltering economy and the refugee crisis. The deadly attack on the Christmas market That shocked the nation.

“We are a country of togetherness,” Schultz said in his pre-recorded speech. “And we can draw strength from this — especially in difficult times like these.”

Paris will conclude the important year 2024 with a traditional festive countdown and spectacular fireworks on the famous Champs-Élysées.

the Summer Olympics and Paralympics Hosting the French capital from July to September, it transformed the city into a site of joy, brotherhood and stunning sporting achievements, and marked another major milestone in its recovery from deadly 2015 extremist attacks by Al Qaeda and ISIS.

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. 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 – assuming the high winds and severe weather that were expected to be much worse this far north in the UK are canceled at the last minute.

With a storm of bitter weather forecast for the north of the UK, celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland – including the popular Hogmanay Street Party, a concert in the park and a fireworks display at the castle – were canceled in advance.

Rio de Janeiro will hold Brazil’s main New Year’s Eve party on Copacabana Beach, where 10 ferries will set off off shore carrying 12 consecutive minutes of fireworks. Thousands of tourists on six cruise ships will witness this show up close.

Rio City Hall has been closely monitoring its plans for the lights and sounds display. 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.

Times Square and throughout the United States

And in New York City, the organization that runs Times Square experienced the famous ball drop and examined 2,025 numbers, lights and thousands of crystals, part of a tradition dating back to 1907. This year’s celebration will include musical performances by TLC’s band, the Jonas Brothers. Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

The concert, which covers several blocks around the city’s tourist center and main theater, is expected to attract large crowds despite the rain and cold weather.

Meanwhile, in 2024, Las Vegas will bid farewell to its old traditions — and some new ones. The annual eight-minute fireworks display will take place on the Las Vegas Strip, where 340,000 people are expected to attend with fireworks being shot off from the rooftops of nine casinos.

Nearby, the massive Sphere site will debut a countdown to midnight in different time zones.

In Pasadena, excited Rose Parade spectators were scheduled to camp out in the chilly streets and ring in the new year in hopes of getting prime spots for the famous Southern California tradition. The parade precedes the Rose Bowl football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks on January 1.

Thousands will participate in the Midnight 5K run following the parade route.

About 200,000 people will flock to a concert in Nashville that includes a five-hour show by some of country music’s biggest stars. At midnight — an hour after New York — a 16-foot-tall, 400-pound musical note will fall as fireworks light up the sky.

Celebrations will resonate around the world as the New Year rings in in different time zones, with American Samoa being among the last countries to welcome 2025, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.