After a year of ongoing conflict and political instability, cities around the world are ready to celebrate the New Year with celebrations highlighting local cultures and traditions.
South Pacific countries will be the first to welcome 2025, with midnight in New Zealand being 18 hours before the ball drops in New York’s Times Square.
In Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, thousands of people were expected to gather in the city center or climb the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a vantage point of the fireworks – and a light display recognizing Auckland’s indigenous tribes. This is a year of protests over Maori rights in the country of five million.
Two hours later in Australia, more than 1 million people are expected to descend on Sydney Harbor for the traditional fireworks. British pop star Robbie Williams will lead a singalong and indigenous ceremonies and performances will acknowledge the country’s First Peoples.
Asia is ready for the year of the snake
Much of Japan has shut down ahead of the country’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes undergo thorough cleaning, including scrubbing floor mats called “tatami” with large sticks.
In the Asian zodiac the coming year of the Snake has been heralded as one of rebirth – pointing to the shedding of the reptilian skin. Stores in Japan, which follow the zodiac from January 1, are selling small figures of smiling snakes and other snake-themed products. Other places in Asia will later begin celebrating the Year of the Snake with the Lunar New Year.
In South Korea, celebrations were scaled back or canceled as the country observes national mourning after the crash of a Jeju Air flight in Muan on Sunday killed 179 people.
West’s rivals exchange goodwill
Chinese state media covered the exchange of New Year greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of the growing closeness between the two leaders who have faced tensions with the West.
The official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday that Xi told Putin that their countries “will always move forward hand in hand.”
China has maintained ties and strong trade with Russia since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, helping it fend off Western sanctions and efforts to isolate Putin.
midnight mass with bubbles
Rome’s traditional New Year’s Eve festivities have an added attraction: marking the beginning of Pope Francis’ Holy Year, the once-a-quarter celebration is projected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
On Tuesday, Francis will celebrate a vespers at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by Mass on Wednesday, when he is expected to once again appeal for peace amid the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Meanwhile, in the United States, St. Paul’s Cathedral in Minnesota will hold a mass at 11 p.m., followed by a champagne reception with toasts. January 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary, and many churches will hold Mass on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Paris will recapture the Olympic spirit
Paris will celebrate 2024 as a landmark year with its traditional festive countdown and a fireworks extravaganza on the famous Champs-Élysées.
The Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, held in the French capital from July to September, transformed the city into a site of joy, camaraderie and astonishing sporting achievements, and marked another major milestone in the recovery from deadly Islamic extremist attacks in 2015.
There will be fireworks in London festival
London will celebrate the New Year on Wednesday with a fireworks display along the River Thames and a parade of 10,000 performers in the city centre. The fireworks will be performed against the backdrop of the London Eye, Big Ben and the giant Ferris wheel across the river from the Houses of Parliament.
However, as the storm worsened the weather in other parts of the United Kingdom, celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland – including a Hogmanay street party, garden concert and castle fireworks show – had already been cancelled.
2 million revelers will come to Rio
Rio de Janeiro will host Brazil’s main New Year’s Eve celebration on Copacabana Beach, with fireworks set off for 12 minutes over 10 piers off the coast. Thousands of tourists aboard six cruise ships will watch the show closely.
Rio’s City Hall was closely monitoring its plans for the light and sound display. More than 2 million people are expected to flock to the Copacabana, hoping to attend concerts by superstar Brazilian artists such as pop singer Anita and Grammy-award winner Caetano Veloso.
American traditions old and new
In New York City, the organization that manages Times Square has tested its famous ball drop, inspecting 2025 points, lights and thousands of crystals as part of a tradition dating back to 1907. This year’s celebration will include musical performances by TLC, Jonas Brothers. , Rita Ora, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
The party, which will take place across several blocks around the city’s main tourist and theater hub, is expected to draw a large crowd despite the rain and cold weather.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas, Nevada, will bid farewell to 2024 with traditions old and a few new. Its annual eight-minute fireworks show will take place over the Las Vegas Strip, with 340,000 people expected to attend as fireworks are launched from the rooftops of nine casinos.
Nearby, the Giant Sphere venue will display a countdown to midnight in different time zones for the first time.
music, football, midnight race
In Pasadena, California, enthusiastic Rose Parade spectators camped out on cold streets and celebrated the New Year in hopes of prime spots for the iconic Southern California tradition. The parade takes place on January 1 before the Rose Bowl football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks.
Thousands of people are expected to participate in a midnight 5K race following the parade route.
Approximately 200,000 people will attend a party in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring a five-hour show featuring some of country music’s biggest stars. At midnight – an hour after New York – a 5 meter long musical note weighing 181 kilograms will fall into the sky as a firework.
The arrival of 2025 will be celebrated around the world in different time zones, with American Samoa being one of the first to welcome the New Year a full 24 hours after New Zealand.
Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.