New Yr’s Eve celebrations welcome 2026 all over the world. See the images.

World wide, 2026 has begun to reach. Crowds throughout the globe have gathered to ring within the new yr, typically accompanied by elevated security measures.  

In some communities, the standard celebrations had been shadowed by grief. Hong Kong adjusted its plans in honor of the 161 individuals who lately died in a high-rise condo hearth, whereas public occasions in Sydney, Australia, paid tribute to the 15 people killed in a terror assault at a Hanukkah celebration on Dec. 14. 

This is how the world is ringing in 2026, in images.

U.S., the Americas and the Caribbean ring in 2026

The celebrations to ring within the new yr started with a bang within the Americas. 

In Brazil, revelers packed the long-lasting Copacabana Seashore in Rio de Janeiro for live shows and a 12-minute fireworks present. On Dec. 30, the Brazilian metropolis obtained the title of the world’s largest New Yr’s Eve celebration from the Guinness World Information, a recognition of its well-known large festivity with reside music reveals by the ocean.

In Chile, individuals gathered on the port of Valparaiso for a fireworks present.

In New York City, 1000’s of individuals braved frigid temperatures and packed Instances Sq. for the well-known ball drop. The ball, lined in additional than 5,000 crystals, descended a pole and confetti rained down in Instances Sq..

The social gathering started early with musical performances from the likes of Ciara, Little Massive City, Diana Ross and others.

After midnight, the ball rose once more, glowing in crimson, white and blue to mark the US’ upcoming 250th birthday. A couple of miles away in a decommissioned subway station, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor throughout a non-public occasion simply after midnight Thursday.

In Washington, D.C., a fireworks show lit up the night time sky over the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, which was illuminated with Freedom 250 tasks to kick off the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Downtown Miami‘s skyline was illuminated by fireworks on Biscayne Bay from a bridge connecting Miami and Miami Seashore.

In Caracas, Venezuela, revelers took to the streets to welcome the brand new yr.

Elevated safety for New Yr’s Eve in Europe   

A couple of hours earlier than midnight arrived in Europe, Pope Leo XIV gave his final general audience of 2025 in St. Peter’s Sq. on the Vatican. He quoted the late Pope Francis, led the congregation in a standard prayer, and regarded again upon the occasions of 2025. 

In Paris, a New Yr’s Eve live performance was cancelled as a result of officers feared “unpredictable crowd actions” on the Champs-Elysées, which had been “deemed to not be sized” appropriately for the occasion. The brand new yr is being celebrated with fireworks and a video projection on the Arc de Triomphe.

Elevated safety and site visitors measures, together with the mobilization of 10,000 law enforcement officials, have been carried out within the French capital. 

London is internet hosting a ticketed fireworks occasion in the course of the town, however Primrose Hill, a well-liked viewpoint, can be inaccessible, the Metropolitan Police Division said. Legislation enforcement has been deployed throughout the town to “present a reassuring presence, to discourage those that may wish to benefit from the crowds to commit crime and to reply decisively to any incidents,” mentioned MPD Commander Nick John, who’s in command of the New Yr’s Eve policing operation. Safety was additionally elevated on public transportation. 

In Rome, a crowd gathered to have a good time with sparklers outdoors the Colosseum.

Berlin residents and vacationers marked the tip of 2025 by taking selfies and making snowmen in entrance of the German capital’s cathedral and the long-lasting Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin TV Tower was almost invisible amid the falling snowflakes and fog.

In Hamburg and Baden-Württemberg, individuals celebrated with fireworks reveals that lit up the night time sky.

A rainbow of fireworks lit up New Yr’s celebrations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

In Barcelona, Spain, residents had been entertained with a drone show “2026” within the night time sky throughout the metropolis’s New Yr celebration.

In Ukraine, Odesa residents held a standard celebration referred to as Malanka, that includes conventional costumes, folklore characters, songs, dances, theatrical performances and different rituals meant to carry prosperity within the new yr. 

Ukraine is marking its fourth New Yr’s at struggle following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. 

In his end-of-the-year handle, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned his nation is close to a peace deal with Russia, however cautioned that a very powerful points had been nonetheless unsolved and that any settlement mustn’t reward Moscow.

“The peace settlement is 90 p.c prepared. Ten p.c stays. And that’s excess of simply numbers,” Zelenskyy mentioned within the handle, posted on his Telegram account. “These are the ten p.c that may decide the destiny of peace, the destiny of Ukraine and Europe.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his conventional New Yr’s handle to reaffirm his perception in Russia’s eventual success in its invasion of Ukraine. He praised Russian troops as heroes, “combating in your place of birth, reality and justice.”

“We consider in you and our victory,” Putin mentioned, in keeping with the Russian state information company Tass.

In Greece and Cyprus, officers turned down the quantity, changing some conventional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics, mild reveals and drone shows in capital cities. Officers mentioned the change is meant to make celebrations extra welcoming for kids and pets, significantly animals sensitive to loud noise. 

A worldwide welcome to 2026

Fireworks and avenue festivals had been the order of the day in lots of cities across the globe.

In Dubai, 1000’s of revellers queued for as much as 9 hours for a spectacular fireworks and laser show on the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest constructing. After a build-up that includes jet skis and floating pianos on an adjoining lake, a 10-minute burst of pyrotechnics and LED results lit up the needle-shaped, 2,717-foot tower.

Solemnity and celebration combine in Australia and New Zealand

International locations within the South Pacific had been first to ring within the new yr, as midnight struck in New Zealand a full 18 hours earlier than the ball was scheduled to drop in New York City’s Times Square.

In Auckland, New Zealanders welcomed 2026 with a fireworks show launched from the nation’s tallest construction, Sky Tower, in a celebration that drew 1000’s regardless of rain. The five-minute pyrotechnic show concerned 3,500 fireworks launched from numerous flooring of the 787-foot tower. Smaller neighborhood occasions had been canceled throughout New Zealand’s North Island on Wednesday attributable to dismal climate forecasts.

Australia’s east coast welcomed 2026 simply two hours later, however in Sydney, the nation’s largest metropolis, celebrations had been held below the pall of Australia’s worst mass taking pictures in virtually 30 years. Two gunmen focused a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Seashore on Dec. 14, killing 15 individuals in what authorities referred to as an ISIS-inspired antisemitic terror assault.

Officers had mentioned that greater than 2,500 officers could be readily available to patrol the realm round Sydney’s iconic harbor, the epicenter of New Yr’s Eve celebrations. Many had been to brazenly carry computerized rifles, a sight not often seen in Sydney.

Amid these safety measures, 1000’s thronged to the waterfront to look at a fireworks present centered on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns had urged Sydney residents to not keep away attributable to concern, saying extremists would interpret smaller crowds at New Yr’s Eve festivities as a victory.

“We will not be in a state of affairs the place this horrible, felony, terrorist occasion adjustments the best way we reside in our stunning metropolis,” Minns instructed reporters on Wednesday. “We now have to point out defiance within the face of this horrible crime and say that we’re not going to be cowered by this type of terrorism.”

An hour earlier than midnight, the Bondi Seashore bloodbath victims had been commemorated with one minute of silence, whereas photographs of a menorah had been projected onto the bridge’s pylons. The gang was invited to point out solidarity with Australia’s Jewish neighborhood by shining their telephone lights throughout the harbor.

Observances throughout Asia

In Indonesia, certainly one of Australia’s nearest neighbors, cities scaled again New Yr’s Eve festivities as a gesture of solidarity with communities devastated by catastrophic floods and landslides that struck elements of Sumatra island a month in the past, claiming greater than 1,100 lives.

The capital, Jakarta, selected to cut back the standard fanfare, opting as an alternative for subdued celebrations with a peaceful and reflective program centered on prayers for victims, metropolis Gov. Pramono Anung mentioned final week. However a big crowd nonetheless gathered to welcome 2026.

Live shows and fireworks on Indonesia’s vacationer island of Bali have been canceled and changed with a cultural arts occasion that includes 65 teams performing conventional dances.

Hong Kong, too, was to ring in 2026 with out the standard spectacular and colourful explosions within the sky over its iconic Victoria Harbor, after a large fire tore through an apartment complex in November and killed a minimum of 161 individuals.

Town’s tourism board as an alternative hosted a music present that includes delicate rock duo Air Provide and different singers in Central, a enterprise district. The facades of eight landmarks had been to show into big countdown clocks presenting a three-minute mild present at midnight.

Chinese language President Xi Jinping, in a New Yr’s Eve handle broadcast by state media, hailed his nation’s technological progress in areas resembling synthetic intelligence and semiconductors whereas renewing threats against Taiwan, which it claims as a part of its sovereign territory.

“We Chinese language on each side of the Taiwan Strait share a bond of blood and kinship,” he mentioned.

“The reunification of our motherland, a development of the occasions, is unstoppable,” Xi mentioned, as his nation’s army introduced the conclusion of large-scale military drills around Taiwan that had been condemned by the democratically ruled island’s management as “extremely provocative and reckless.”

In South Korea’s capital, Seoul, a bell tolling was held on the Bosingak Pavilion and fireworks lit up the sky.

North Korean chief Kim Jong Un made an look at an an occasion to have a good time the brand new yr in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Temple bells rang throughout Japan, and a few individuals climbed mountains to see the yr’s first dawn. Others had been consuming noodles in a standard want for lengthy life due to the noodles’ form.