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From Sydney to Paris to New York to Toronto, crowds ringed in the new year with exuberant celebrations filled with thunderous fireworks or light shows, while others took a more low-key approach.
As the clock struck midnight in Japan, temple bells rang and some climbed mountains to witness the first sunrise of the year, while a light show featuring tumbling jet skis sparkled in Dubai.
In New York’s Times Square, revelers braved freezing temperatures to celebrate with the famous New Year’s Eve Ball.
Europe celebrates its new year
In Europe, fireworks were planned at a number of landmarks, from Rome’s Colosseum to the London Eye.
In Paris, revelers converged around the glittering Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Taissiya Girda, a 27-year-old Kazakh tourist, expressed hope for a calmer 2026.
“I would like to see happy people around me, no war anywhere,” she said. “Russia, Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, I want everyone to be happy and at peace.”
In Scotland, where the New Year is known as Hogmanay, Prime Minister John Swinney urged Scots to follow the message of Auld Lang Syne by National Poet Robert Burns and show small acts of kindness.
Greece and Cyprus turned down the volume, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics. Officials said the change was intended to make celebrations more welcoming to children and pets.
Middle Eastern countries hold big celebrations
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates lit up their night skies with grand celebrations to mark the start of 2026.
Thousands of people gathered in Qatar’s Lusail district on Thursday to celebrate the New Year with a dazzling fireworks display.
In Dubai, the world’s tallest building was lit up in celebration, as fireworks exploded around it. Abu Dhabi saw numerous fireworks displays following a drone show that gave spectators unique visuals of the countdown appearing in the night sky.
In Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by more than two years of war, Palestinians said they hoped the new year would bring an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“We hope it will be a good year for our people in Palestine,” said Faraj Rasheed, a local resident, noting that thousands continue to live in harsh conditions in tent camps.
Others described 2025 as a year of loss.
“The war has humiliated us,” said Mirvat Abed Al-Aal, displaced from the southern city of Rafah.
New Zealand lights up for 2026, provocative celebration in Australia
The South Pacific countries were the first to say goodbye to 2025.
The clocks struck midnight in Auckland, 18 hours before the famous balloon dropped in Times Square in New York.
Auckland was the first major city to ring in 2026 with a five-minute spectacle, launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, the Sky Tower, involving 3,500 fireworks.
Australia’s east coast welcomed 2026, two hours after New Zealand.
In Sydney, the country’s largest city, celebrations took place under the cover of Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.
Two gunmen targeted a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people and injuring 40 others.
A heavy police presence monitored the thousands of people who gathered on the waterfront to watch a fireworks display centered on Sydney’s Harbor Bridge. Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for this annual event.
An hour before midnight, the victims of the massacre were commemorated with a minute of silence while images of a menorah were projected onto the bridge’s pylons. The crowd was invited to show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns urged Sydneysiders not to stay away out of fear, saying extremists would interpret fewer crowds at New Year’s festivities as a victory.
“We must show defiance in the face of this terrible crime and say that we are not going to be intimidated by this type of terrorism,” he said.
Indonesia and Hong Kong hold low-key events
In Indonesia, one of Australia’s closest neighbors, towns have scaled back festivities in a show of solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides that hit parts of the island of Sumatra a month ago, killing more than 1,100 people.
The capital, Jakarta, did not ring in 2026 with its usual fanfare, choosing subdued celebrations with a program focused on prayers for the victims, Pramono Anung, the city’s governor, said last week.
Munafri Arifuddin, mayor of Makassar, urged residents of one of Indonesia’s largest cities to forgo celebrations, calling for prayer and reflection. “Empathy and restraint mean more than fireworks and crowds,” he said.
Concerts and fireworks on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali have been canceled and replaced with a cultural and artistic event featuring traditional dances.
Hong Kong also rang in 2026 without the usual spectacle in the skies above the iconic Victoria Harbour, after a massive fire in November that killed at least 161 people.
The facades of eight monuments were transformed into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight.
Many parts of Asia welcome the new year by observing centuries-old traditions.
In Japan, crowds gathered at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo to hear the bell ring at midnight. In the South Korean capital, Seoul, a bell ringing and countdown ceremony was held at Bosingak Pavilion.
Calmer celebrations in Greece and Cyprus
Greece and Cyprus marked 2026 by turning down the volume, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics, light shows and drone demonstrations in capitals. Low-noise fireworks avoid the explosive explosions that generate the loud crackles of traditional fireworks.
Officials in those countries said the change was intended to make celebrations more welcoming to children and pets, especially animals sensitive to loud noise.
Mamdani sworn in in New York
In New York, Zohran Mamdani became mayor just after midnight, taking the oath of office in a historic, disused Manhattan subway station.
Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in as the first Muslim leader of the largest city in the United States, placing his hand on a Quran as he took the oath.
“This is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said in a brief speech.
Ring in 2026 with the New Year’s Eve countdown live across Canada on CBC. Join Adrienne Arsenault, Jann Arden, Ian Hanomansing and Andrew Phung as celebrations take place across six time zones. Get details on where and when to watch.
