From fireworks in Sydney to a ball drop in New York: cities around the world prepare to celebrate the New Year
Kyiv • UNN
Cities around the world are preparing to celebrate the New Year with unique traditions and large-scale shows. From the first fireworks display in New Zealand to the last celebration in American Samoa in 24 hours.
Cities around the world are preparing to celebrate the New Year with festivities that emphasize local culture and traditions, after a year of ongoing conflict and political instability, UNN reports citing AP.
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Countries in the South Pacific will be the first to ring in 2025, with New Zealand striking midnight 18 hours before the ball drops in Times Square in New York.
In New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, thousands of people are expected to fill the city center or climb the city's ring of volcanic peaks to watch a fireworks and light show in honor of Auckland's indigenous tribes. This was preceded by a year of protests for the rights of the country's 5 million Maori.
In two hours in Australia, more than 1 million people are expected to gather in Sydney Harbor for the traditional fireworks display. British pop star Robbie Williams will perform, and indigenous ceremonies and performances will pay tribute to the first inhabitants of this land.
Asia prepares for the Year of the Snake
Most of Japan closed before the country's biggest holiday as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning, including beating out mats called "tatami" with large chains.
The Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is proclaimed to be a year of rebirth - alluding to the shedding of the reptile's skin. Shops in Japan, which has been celebrating the zodiac cycle since January 1, are selling tiny figurines of smiling snakes and other snake-themed merchandise. Other places in Asia will start celebrating the Year of the Snake later, with the Lunar New Year.
In South Korea, celebrations have been reduced or canceled as the country observes national mourning following Sunday's crash of a Jeju Air plane in Muan, which killed 179 people.
Jakarta's New Year's Eve celebrations include a dazzling fireworks display, including a drone show featuring 800 drones, followed by a countdown to midnight at the city's famous Hotel Indonesia intersection.
Western rivals exchange pleasantries
Chinese state media covered the exchange of New Year's greetings between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, reminding us of the growing closeness between the two leaders, who are facing tensions with the West, the newspaper writes.
Xi told Putin that their countries "will always move forward side by side," the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
China has maintained ties and active trade with Russia since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, helping to offset Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Putin, the newspaper writes.
Midnight Mass, with bubbles
The traditional New Year's Eve celebrations in Rome have gained an added attraction: the beginning of Pope Francis' Holy Year, a celebration held once every quarter century that is expected to attract about 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
On Tuesday, Francis will celebrate Vespers at St. Peter's Basilica, followed by a Mass on Wednesday, when he is expected to renew his call for peace amid the wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, in the United States, a mass will be held at St. Paul's Cathedral in Minnesota at 23:00, followed by a reception with champagne and toasts.
Paris brings back the Olympic spirit
Paris will end the significant year of 2024 with a traditional festive countdown and fireworks extravaganza on the famous Champs Elysees.
The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, which took place in the French capital from July to September, turned the city into a place of joy, brotherhood and amazing sporting achievements and marked another important milestone in its recovery from the deadly extremist attacks in 2015 by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, the newspaper writes.
Brits to brave winter weather
London is to welcome the New Year with a pyrotechnic show along the River Thames and a parade through the city center on Wednesday with 10,000 performers. The fireworks will explode against the backdrop of the London Eye, a huge observation wheel across the river from Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
However, due to a storm that brought bad weather to other parts of the United Kingdom, celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland, including a party on Gogmanay Street, a concert in the garden, and a pyrotechnic show in the castle, have already been canceled.
Rio will see 2 million revelers
Rio de Janeiro will host Brazil's main New Year's Eve party on Copacabana Beach, with 10 ferries with 12 minutes of fireworks in a row. Thousands of tourists on six cruise ships will witness the show up close.
Rio's mayor's office has closely guarded its plans for the show. More than 2 million people are expected to visit Copacabana, hoping to catch concerts by such Brazilian superstars as pop singer Anitta and Grammy Award winner Caetano Veloso.
American traditions old and new
In New York City, the organization that runs Times Square tested its famous ball and checked the numbers for 2025, lights and thousands of crystals as part of a tradition that dates back to 1907. This year's celebration will include musical performances by TLC, the Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
The party, which covers several blocks around the city's main tourist and theater center, is expected to attract large crowds despite the rain and cold weather.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas will say goodbye to 2024 with old and some new traditions. Its annual eight-minute pyrotechnic show will take place on the Las Vegas Strip. It is expected to be attended by 340,000 people, and fireworks will be launched from the roofs of nine casinos.
For the first time, the huge Sphere venue will show a countdown to midnight in different time zones.
Country music, American football and the midnight run
In Pasadena, enthusiastic Rose Parade spectators were to camp out in the cold streets and ring in the New Year, hoping to find the best seats for the iconic Southern California tradition. The parade precedes the Rose Bowl football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks on January 1.
Thousands of people will take part in a 5 km midnight race along the parade route.
Around 200 ,000 people will gather for a party in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring a five-hour show by some of country music's biggest stars. At midnight - an hour after New York City - a nearly 5-meter musical note will fall and fireworks will light up the sky.
Celebrations will reverberate around the world as the New Year arrives in different time zones, with American Samoa being one of the last to welcome 2025 a full 24 hours later than New Zealand.
