Sydney: Australia has become the second country to welcome 2025 with fireworks at Sydney Harbour.
Auckland, New Zealand was the first major city in the world to welcome the new year.
Over one million people were expected at the harbour to count down the new year and see the colourful fireworks.
British pop star Robbie Williams will be leading a singalong and Indigenous ceremonies and performances will acknowledge the land’s first people.
Thousands of revellers counted down to the new year and cheered colourful fireworks launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, the Sky Tower, as part of a spectacular light show.
Many also climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point, as well as a light display recognising Auckland’s Indigenous tribes. It follows a year marked by protests over Māori rights in the nation of five million.
Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking a full 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York.
Other cities around the world are readying with celebrations highlighting local cultures and traditions, after a year roiled by ongoing conflict and political instability.
Japan and South Korea
Much of Japan has shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning, including swatting floor mats called “tatami” with big sticks.
In South Korea, celebrations were cut back or cancelled as the country observes a period of national mourning following the crash on Sunday of a Jeju Air flight at Muan that killed 179 people.
China
Elsewhere, Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of the growing closeness between two leaders who face tensions with the West.
Meanwhile, a blackout hit nearly all of Puerto Rico early on Tuesday as the US territory prepared to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
More than 1.2 million out of 1.47 million customers were without power, according to Luma Energy, a private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution on the island.
It was not immediately clear what caused the widespread outage or when power would be restored.
