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As Wednesday turned to Thursday, people around the world said goodbye to a sometimes challenging 2025 and expressed hopes for the new year to come.
Midnight arrived first on the islands closest to the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Tonga and New Zealand.
Fireworks lit up Sydney
In Australia, Sydney began 2026 with a spectacular fireworks display, as per tradition. Some 40,000 pyrotechnic effects stretched seven kilometres across buildings and barges along its harbour and featured a waterfall effect from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
This year, it was held under an enhanced police presence, weeks after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city. Patrolling police carried long-arm guns — an unusual sight in Australia.
Organisers held a minute's silence for the victims of the attack at 11pm, with the Harbour Bridge lit up in white and a menorah — a symbol of Judaism — projected onto its pylons.
"After a tragic end to the year for our city, we hope that New Year's Eve will provide an opportunity to come together and look with hope for a peaceful and happy 2026," Lord Mayor Clover Moore said ahead of the event.
Bronze bell struck at midnight in Seoul
In Seoul, thousands gathered at the Bosingak bell pavilion, where a bronze bell was struck 33 times at midnight — a tradition rooted in Buddhist cosmology, symbolising the 33 heavens. The chimes are believed to dispel misfortune and welcome peace and prosperity for the year ahead.
Drums at the Great Wall of China
An hour to the west, there were celebrations and a drum performance at the Juyong Pass, at the Great Wall of China just outside Beijing. Revellers wore headgear and waved boards emblazoned with "2026" and the symbol of a horse. February will mark the arrival of the Year of the Horse on the Chinese lunar calendar.
No fireworks in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, the annual New Year's fireworks display was called off after the apartment complex blaze in November that killed 161 people. Instead, a light show with the theme of "New hopes, new beginnings" transformed facades in the Central district.
Light shows across Asia
Bangkok lit up with a spectacular drone and fireworks display, with large crowds flocking to the downtown area of the Thai capital and lining the Chao Phraya river.
Celebrations also took place in many other bustling Asian cities, including Karachi in Pakistan, Manila in the Philippines and Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur.
Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, rang in 2026 with throngs of people, many holding umbrellas and braving showers, to watch light and fireworks displays.
Diana Ross at New York's Times Square
In the United States, thousands of revellers filled Times Square in New York as the old year passed into the new.
They were treated to a performance by legendary American singer and actress Diana Ross, as well as songs by Mariah Carey, Charlie Puth, Madison Beer.
Performances and fireworks in the Middle East
Crowds of revellers rang in the new year in Qatar watching fireworks and vibrant music and performances along Lusail Boulevard in the capital, Doha.
In Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, the world's tallest building took centre stage for a fireworks display.
Londoners brave chilly temperatures
Despite temperatures plunging below freezing in London, people still parked up on viewpoints around the city to wait for the iconic fireworks displays over central London at midnight.
The extravagant display over the London Eye lit up world-famous landmarks like the Big Ben.
Icy plunges in parts of Europe
In Croatia, revels 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.
In Copenhagen, people stripped off to take part in the annual New Year's dip, known as Nytaarsbad, in the Danish capital's Islands Brygge Harbour Bath.
Swimmers also hit the water in Catania, Italy, for an annual New Year's Eve swimming competition.
Brazil looks to break record, as revellers wait in New York
Elsewhere, preparations got under way for the more traditional midnight toast. In subzero temperatures in New York, organisers began putting up security barriers and stages ahead of the crowds that will flock to Times Square for the annual ball drop.
Similarly, on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro — albeit with warmer weather — staging was being set up for a massive music and fireworks party known as "Reveillon". Organisers were hoping to beat their 2024 Guinness World Record for the biggest New Year's Eve celebration.
Hopes for peace in Russia and Ukraine
In snowy Kyiv and Moscow, both Ukrainians and Russians prepared to see in the new year, expressing hopes of peace after nearly four years of conflict.
"I wish for the war to end, I think that this is the main and most important topic for our country," said a woman in central Moscow who gave her name only as Larisa and said she had travelled from distant Altai Krai to see the Russian capital in the winter holidays with her family.
Many Ukrainians lamented that peace still seemed a distant prospect.
But wrapped up warm and visiting a Christmas tree set up in front of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, nine-year-old Olesia was more optimistic.
"I think there will be peace in the new year," she said.
Gaza farewells 2026 with 'sorrow'
After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, pressure from United States President Donald Trump helped bring a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October.
"We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief," Gaza City resident Shireen Al-Kayali said. "We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror."
Skies light up as clock strikes midnight across Europe
Fireworks filled the sky in Berlin, Rome, Athens and many other European cities as they entered the new year.
— With additional reporting from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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