Australia has welcomed in 2026 with a spectacular fireworks display over Sydney Opera House, as well as a minute’s silence to remember the victims of the Bondi beach attack.
The 40,000 fireworks stretched more than four miles across buildings and barges along the harbour.
An hour before midnight, the victims of the country’s worst mass shooting – during which 15 were killed and 40 injured – were commemorated with a moment of reflection while images of a menorah were projected onto Sydney Harbour Bridge. The crowd were invited to show their solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community by shining their phone torches across the harbor.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns urged Sydney residents not to stay away through fear, saying extremists would interpret smaller crowds at New Year’s Eve festivities as a victory.
“We can’t be in a situation where this horrible, criminal, terrorist event changes the way we live in our beautiful city,” Minns told reporters on Wednesday.
“We have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime and say that we’re not going to be cowered by this kind of terrorism,” he added.
Two hours earlier, more than 3,000 fireworks have been launched over the top of New Zealand’s tallest building – the Sky Tower – as Auckland became the first major city to welcome in the new year.
New Zealand’s capital celebrates midnight 18 hours before New York. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from various floors of the 240-metre (787-foot) Sky Tower.
The island of Kiritimati was the first place in the world to celebrate 2026. Part of the Pacific Ocean nation Kiribati, located south of Hawaii and north-east of Australia. It is made up of several atolls – ring-shaped coral reefs – and spans almost 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometres) from east to west. Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979 and has a population of about 116,000.
Japan and South Korea will celebrate the New Year around 3pm GMT, joined by Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Taiwan.
However, Hong Kong will not mark the occasion with a fireworks display after a devastating fire killed 161 people in an apartment complex in November. It marked the deadliest blaze the city had seen in decades. The city is usually home to the world’s largest and most extravagant demonstrations with light shows, fireworks, music and performances.
Instead, the government has organised a light show and pared-back musical performances for members of the public.
Chinese President Xi Jinping in a New Year’s Eve address broadcast by state media hailed his country’s technological progress in areas such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors while renewing threats against Taiwan, which it claims as part of its sovereign territory.
“We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a bond of blood and kinship,” he said. “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the times, is unstoppable.” China this week launched large-scale military drills around the island.
