People around the world toasted the end of 2025 with hopes for a better year.
New Year celebrations took on a sombre tone in Sydney as revellers held a minute's silence for victims of the Bondi Beach shooting before fireworks lit up the city at the stroke of midnight.
A heavy police presence was in place to monitor the thousands who watched the show, centred on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the event.
“Right now, the joy that we usually feel at the start of a new year is tempered by the sadness of the old,” Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a video message released an hour before midnight.
In Croatia, celebrations got off to an early start. Since 2000, the town of Fuzine has held its countdown at noon, a tradition that has since spread across the country.
Crowds cheered, toasted each other with champagne and danced to music - all in the middle of the day. Some brave souls in Santa hats took a plunge into the icy waters of Lake Bajer.
Pacific nations Kiribati and New Zealand were the first to see in 2026, with Seoul and Tokyo following Sydney as celebrations stretched to glitzy New York and the Hogmanay festival on the chilly streets of Scotland.
More than two million people packed into Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach for what authorities called the world's biggest New Year's Eve party.
Indonesia and Hong Kong hold subdued events
In Indonesia, cities scaled back festivities in solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides that struck parts of Sumatra a month ago, claiming more than 1,100 lives.
The capital, Jakarta, held subdued celebrations with a programme centred on prayers for victims. Concerts and fireworks on the tourist island of Bali were replaced with a cultural event featuring traditional dances.
Hong Kong was ringing in 2026 without the usual spectacle over Victoria Harbour after a fire in November that killed at least 161 people. The facades of landmarks turned into countdown clocks before a light show at midnight.
Temple bells rang across Japan, and some people climbed mountains to see the year's first sunrise. Others ate noodles – a traditional way to wish for long life that references the noodle’s length. In South Korea's capital, Seoul, bells tolled at the Bosingak Pavilion.
Displaced Gazans hope for end to war
Palestinians in Gaza said they hope the new year brings a definitive end to the war between Israel and Hamas, which has battered the enclave for two years, as negotiators push for progress on the ceasefire's challenging second phase.
“We hope that it will be a good year for our people in Palestine,” said Faraj Rasheed, noting that thousands continue to live in harsh conditions in tent camps.
Others described 2025 as a year of loss. “The war humiliated us,” said Mirvat Abed Al Aal, who is displaced from the southern city of Rafah.
Berliners celebrate in snow
Tourists and Berliners marked the end of 2025 by taking selfies and making snowmen in front of the German capital's cathedral and the Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin TV Tower was almost invisible amid falling snow and fog.
Meanwhile, Greece and Cyprus turned down the volume, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics, light shows and drone displays in their capital cities. Officials said the change is intended to make celebrations more welcoming for children and pets, particularly animals sensitive to loud noise.
Additional security in New York
Police in New York City had additional anti-terrorism measures at the Times Square ball drop, with “mobile screening teams”. The measure was not in response to a specific threat, according to NYPD commissioner Jessica Tisch. After the ball dropped, it rose again, sparkling in red, white and blue to mark the US's coming 250th birthday.
Zohran Mamdani will take office as New York City mayor at the start of 2026. Two swearing-in ceremonies are planned, beginning with a private event around midnight in a former subway station.
With agencies
