World

From Sydney to Paris and New York, world welcomes 2025 with fireworks and festivities

Published

3 days ago

January 1, 2025

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Revellers across the world watched spectacular firework displays as they welcomed 2025 and waved goodbye to a year marked by conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine. In several war zones, there were muted acknowledgments of the start of another year.

From Sydney to Mumbai to Nairobi, communities around the world welcomed 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.

The New Year’s Eve ball dropped in soggy Times Square, where thousands of revelers stuck it out in heavy rain to celebrate the start of 2025 in New York City.

Countries in the South Pacific Ocean were the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball dropped in Times Square. Auckland was the first major city to celebrate, with thousands thronging downtown or climbing the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point.

Conflict muted acknowledgements of the start of 2025 in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine.

American Samoa will be among the last to welcome 2025, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.

Fireworks blasted off the Sydney Harbor Bridge and across the bay. More than a million Australians and others gathered at iconic Sydney Harbor for the celebration. British pop star Robbie Williams led a singalong with the crowd.

Jan. 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary.

(AP)

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