The world begins welcoming 2025 with light shows, embraces and ice plunges

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — From Sydney to Vladivostok to Mumbai, communities around the world began welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.

Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, as thousands thronged downtown or climbed the city's ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point. A light display recognised Indigenous people.

Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square in New York.

Conflict muted acknowledgements of the new year in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine.

Fireworks blasted off the Sydney Harbour Bridge and across the bay. More than a million Australians and others gathered at iconic Sydney Harbour for the celebration. British pop star Robbie Williams led a singalong with the crowd.

The celebration also featured Indigenous ceremonies and performances that acknowledged the land's first people.

Much of Japan shut down ahead of the nation's biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning.

The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth — alluding to the reptile's shedding skin. Other places in Asia will mark the Year of the Snake later with the Lunar New Year.

In South Korea, celebrations were cut back or cancelled during a period of national mourning following the Sunday crash of a Jeju Air flight at Muan that killed 179 people.

In Thailand's Bangkok, shopping malls competed for crowds with live musical acts and fireworks shows. A fireworks display in Indonesia's Jakarta featured 800 drones.

Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year's greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between the leaders who face tensions with the West.

Xi told Putin their countries will "always move forward hand in hand," the official Xinhua News Agency said.

China has maintained ties and robust trade with Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022, helping to offset Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Putin.

In India, thousands of revellers in the financial hub of Mumbai flocked to the city's bustling promenade facing the Arabian Sea. In Sri Lanka, people gathered at Buddhist temples to light oil lamps and incense sticks and pray.

In Dubai, thousands are were attending a fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper. And in Nairobi, Kenya, scattered fireworks were heard as midnight approached.

Rome's traditional New Year's Eve festivities have an additional draw: the start of Pope Francis' Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration 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 again appeal for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East.

January 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary.

Paris was capping a momentous 2024 with its traditional countdown and fireworks extravaganza on the Champs-Elysées.

The Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games hosted in the French capital from July to September had transformed the city into a site of joy, fraternity and astonishing sporting achievements.

Frank and Rowena Klar from San Francisco visited the French capital to celebrate 31 years together. "If you start it big, we think we're going to have a great year," he said.

London was due to ring in the New Year with a pyrotechnic display along the River Thames. With a storm bringing bitter weather to other parts of the United Kingdom, however, festivities in Edinburgh, Scotland, were cancelled.

But in Switzerland and some other places people embraced the cold, stripping and plunging into the water in freezing temperatures.

Rio de Janeiro will throw Brazil's main New Year's Eve bash on Copacabana Beach, with ferries offshore bearing 12 straight minutes of fireworks. Thousands of tourists in cruise ships will witness the show up close.

More than two million people were expected at the Copacabana, hoping to squeeze into concerts by superstar Brazilian artists such as pop singer Anitta and Grammy-award winner Caetano Veloso.
American traditions, old and new

In New York City, the organisation managing Times Square has tested its famous ball drop and inspected 2025 numerals, lights and thousands of crystals as part of a tradition going back to 1907. This year's celebration will include musical performances by TLC, Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Las Vegas' pyrotechnic show will be on the Strip, with 340,000 people anticipated as fireworks are launched from the rooftops of casinos. Nearby, the Sphere venue will display for the first time countdowns to midnight in different time zones.

In Pasadena, Rose Parade spectators were camping out and hoping for prime spots. And some 200,000 people were flocking to a country music party in Nashville, Tennessee.

American Samoa will be among the last to welcome 2025, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.

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