• Fireworks explode over the Marina Bay for the New Year celebrations in Singapore. Reuters
    Fireworks explode over the Marina Bay for the New Year celebrations in Singapore. Reuters
  • The midnight fireworks light up the Sydney Opera House during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images
    The midnight fireworks light up the Sydney Opera House during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images
  • Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Jeongdongjin beach in Gangneung, Ganwon-province, South Korea. EPA
    Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Jeongdongjin beach in Gangneung, Ganwon-province, South Korea. EPA
  • New Year's Eve fireworks explode over the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in Sydney. AFP
    New Year's Eve fireworks explode over the Harbour Bridge and Opera House in Sydney. AFP
  • Indian girls, with their faces painted with slogans to welcome the new year and Indian flags, pose for photographs as they celebrate in Amritsar, India. EPA
    Indian girls, with their faces painted with slogans to welcome the new year and Indian flags, pose for photographs as they celebrate in Amritsar, India. EPA
  • Shinto priests walk to attend a ritual to usher in the upcoming New Year at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan. Reuters
    Shinto priests walk to attend a ritual to usher in the upcoming New Year at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan. Reuters
  • A woman prays in front of a wall of lanterns to celebrate the New Year at the Jogyesa Buddhist temple in Seoul, South Korea. AP Photo
    A woman prays in front of a wall of lanterns to celebrate the New Year at the Jogyesa Buddhist temple in Seoul, South Korea. AP Photo
  • Fireworks are seen exploding from the Sky Tower with the Auckland Harbour Bridge in the foreground during the Auckland New Year's Eve celebrations in New Zealand. Getty Images
    Fireworks are seen exploding from the Sky Tower with the Auckland Harbour Bridge in the foreground during the Auckland New Year's Eve celebrations in New Zealand. Getty Images
  • Schoolchildren hold balloons as they pose during celebrations to welcome the New Year at their school in Ahmedabad, India. Reuters
    Schoolchildren hold balloons as they pose during celebrations to welcome the New Year at their school in Ahmedabad, India. Reuters
  • Fireworks explode over downtown Beirut, Lebanon, during New Year's celebrations on January 1, 2019. AFP
    Fireworks explode over downtown Beirut, Lebanon, during New Year's celebrations on January 1, 2019. AFP
  • Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Arc de Triomphe during New Year's 2019 celebrations at the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, 01 January 2019. EPA
    Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Arc de Triomphe during New Year's 2019 celebrations at the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, 01 January 2019. EPA
  • Iraqi people attend the celebrations for new year's eve in Mosul on December 31, 2018. AFP
    Iraqi people attend the celebrations for new year's eve in Mosul on December 31, 2018. AFP
  • Fireworks burst above the Baghdad Tower in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on January 1, 2019 as Iraqis welcome the New Year when the tower was also opened again after its closure in 2003 during entry of US forces to Baghdad. AFP
    Fireworks burst above the Baghdad Tower in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on January 1, 2019 as Iraqis welcome the New Year when the tower was also opened again after its closure in 2003 during entry of US forces to Baghdad. AFP
  • Worshippers pray as they take turns lying in coffins at the Takien temple in suburban Bangkok, Thailand. Worshippers believe that the coffin ceremony – symbolising death and rebirth – helps them rid themselves of bad luck and are born again for a fresh start in the new year. AP Photo
    Worshippers pray as they take turns lying in coffins at the Takien temple in suburban Bangkok, Thailand. Worshippers believe that the coffin ceremony – symbolising death and rebirth – helps them rid themselves of bad luck and are born again for a fresh start in the new year. AP Photo
  • The numbers '2019' are written in the air with a sparkler near a tourist camp outside Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Reuters
    The numbers '2019' are written in the air with a sparkler near a tourist camp outside Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Reuters
  • Revellers watch as a fireworks display marks the arrival of the new year following a countdown event on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on January 1, 2019. AFP
    Revellers watch as a fireworks display marks the arrival of the new year following a countdown event on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on January 1, 2019. AFP
  • Fireworks explode over the iconic London Eye marking the beginning of the New Year in central London. EPA
    Fireworks explode over the iconic London Eye marking the beginning of the New Year in central London. EPA
  • A woman watches fireworks explode over the iconic London Eye, marking the beginning of the New Year, in central London, Britain, 01 January 2019. More than 100,000 spectators were expected to watch Europe's largest display, which including eight tones of fireworks connected to 5,000 firing circuits. EPA
    A woman watches fireworks explode over the iconic London Eye, marking the beginning of the New Year, in central London, Britain, 01 January 2019. More than 100,000 spectators were expected to watch Europe's largest display, which including eight tones of fireworks connected to 5,000 firing circuits. EPA
  • People take selfies during the last sunset of the year in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. AP Photo
    People take selfies during the last sunset of the year in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. AP Photo
  • People watch fireworks during New Year celebration in downtown St.Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. AP Photo
    People watch fireworks during New Year celebration in downtown St.Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. AP Photo
  • Fireworks explode over the Victoria Harbor during New Year's Eve to celebrate the start of year 2019 in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. AP Photo
    Fireworks explode over the Victoria Harbor during New Year's Eve to celebrate the start of year 2019 in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. AP Photo
  • Fireworks explode over Copacabana Beach during the New Year's celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. AP Photo
    Fireworks explode over Copacabana Beach during the New Year's celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. AP Photo
  • Buddhists light candles during New Year celebrations at Jogyesa Buddhist temple on January 1, 2019 in Seoul, South Korea. Getty Images
    Buddhists light candles during New Year celebrations at Jogyesa Buddhist temple on January 1, 2019 in Seoul, South Korea. Getty Images
  • People attend a ceremony to celebrate the new year in Seoul, South Korea, January 1, 2019. Reuters
    People attend a ceremony to celebrate the new year in Seoul, South Korea, January 1, 2019. Reuters
  • People watch fireworks explode during New Year's celebrations in Belgrade, Serbia. EPA
    People watch fireworks explode during New Year's celebrations in Belgrade, Serbia. EPA
  • Fireworks illuminate the night sky over the Petronas Towers landmark during New Year's Day celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. EPA
    Fireworks illuminate the night sky over the Petronas Towers landmark during New Year's Day celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. EPA
  • This picture shows the last sunset of 2018 behind a church in the West Bank town of Hebron, on December 31, 2018. AFP
    This picture shows the last sunset of 2018 behind a church in the West Bank town of Hebron, on December 31, 2018. AFP
  • Thai people pray to celebrate the New Year 2019 at the Golden Mountain temple or Wat Saket in Bangkok, Thailand, December 31, 2018. Reuters
    Thai people pray to celebrate the New Year 2019 at the Golden Mountain temple or Wat Saket in Bangkok, Thailand, December 31, 2018. Reuters
  • A man wears glasses shaped as the year 2019 as he attends a new year countdown event at Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, Japan, December 31, 2018. Reuters
    A man wears glasses shaped as the year 2019 as he attends a new year countdown event at Shibuya crossing in Tokyo, Japan, December 31, 2018. Reuters
  • People enjoy the fireworks during the new year celebration on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 1, 2019. AFP
    People enjoy the fireworks during the new year celebration on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 1, 2019. AFP
  • New Year's Eve is rung in with a torch-light ski down and fireworks during a holiday celebration in Vail, Colorado. AP
    New Year's Eve is rung in with a torch-light ski down and fireworks during a holiday celebration in Vail, Colorado. AP

World

New Year celebrations around the world - in pictures

The first major fireworks went off in New Zealand as the dawn of the new year spread west

The National

December 31, 2018

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