In pictures: World bids goodbye to 2025 with fireworks and icy plunges

People all over the world are ringing in the new year with traditions old and new.

London has welcomed 2026 with its iconic annual fireworks display over the London Eye. Source: AP / Jonathan Brady

10 ... nine ... eight ...

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.

Fireworks lit up the midnight sky over Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House. Source: AFP / Sylvain Lefevre / Hans Lucas

This year, it was held under an enhanced police presence, weeks after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city.

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.

Drones light up the night sky to celebrate the New Year in Busan, South Korea. Source: AP / Kang Sun-bae

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul. Source: AFP / Jung Yeon-je

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.

Dancers perform on stage as people celebrate the New Year 2026 at the Juyongguan Great Wall, Beijing. Source: AFP / Adek Berry

People celebrate the New Year on the beach in Sanya, Hainan Island, China. Source: EPA / Alex Plavevski

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.

People gathered in the central area of Hong Kong to celebrate the countdown. Source: Getty / Man Hei Leung/Anadolu

Spectacular light show in Thailand

Bangkok lit up with a stunning drone and fireworks display, with large crowds flocking to the downtown area and lining the Chao Phraya river.

Bangkok hosted a fireworks show over the Chao Phraya River at midnight. Source: Getty / Lauren DeCicca

Performances and fireworks in Qatar

Crowds of revellers rang in the new year in Doha watching fireworks and vibrant music and performances along Lusail Boulevard.

An artist performs with fire at Lusail Boulevard during New Year's celebrations in Doha. Source: NurPhoto / Getty Images

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.

Parliament Hill is a popular place to view London’s new year fireworks, a ticketed event which draws thousands to central London. Source: SIPA USA / Vernon Yuen

The extravagant display over the London Eye lit up world-famous landmarks like the Big Ben.

The clocks have struck midnight in the United Kingdom. Source: AP / Alberto Pezzali

Tickets were sold out for London's fireworks display. Source: PA / Ben Whitley

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.

People swimming in Bajer lake before celebration of the New Year at noon in Fuzine, Croatia. Source: PA / Nel Pavletic

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.

For some, it's a tradition to go for a winter swim in Copenhagen's open water harbour bath. Source: Getty / Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Ber

Swimmers also hit the water in Catania, Italy, for an annual New Year's Eve swimming competition.

People participate in the 64th edition of San Silvestro a Mare, a traditional swimming competition held in the waters off the Ognina marina, in Catania, Italy. Source: EPA / Orietta Scardino

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.

Many Russians spent the final hours of 2025 in Moscow at the historic Red Square. Source: Getty / Anadolu/Sefa Karacan

"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.

Ukrainians performed a traditional Ukrainian play on New Year's Eve in Kyiv. Source: Getty / Anadolu/Danylo Antoniuk

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.

Light shows in Jakarta

The Indonesian capital rang in 2026 with throngs of people, many holding umbrellas and braving showers, to watch light and fireworks displays.

Fireworks lit up the night sky at Hotel Indonesia Roundabout in Jakarta. Source: Anadolu / Getty

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.

Fireworks illuminate the sky over the Brandenburg Gate during New Year's Eve celebrations in Berlin, Germany. Source: EPA / Hannibal Hanschke

In the Netherlands, this grand fireworks display on one of Rotterdam's most famous bridges, the Erasmus Bridge, has been held for over fifteen years. Source: SIPA USA / Iris van den Broek

Fireworks shot up all over Rome and its many iconic landmarks. Source: AP / Alessandra Tarantino

Fireworks burst over the Greek capital during New Year celebrations in Athens. Source: AP / Yorgos Karahalis

— With additional reporting from Reuters.

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