From Sydney to Paris to New York City and Toronto, crowds rang in the new year with exuberant celebrations filled with thunderous fireworks or light shows, while others took a more subdued approach.

As the clock struck midnight in Japan, temple bells rang and some climbed mountains to see the year’s first sunrise, while a light show with somersaulting jet skis twinkled in Dubai.

In New York City’s Times Square, revellers braved frigid temperatures to celebrate with the famed New Year’s Eve ball drop.

Europe rings in a New Year

In Europe, fireworks were planned over a number of landmarks, from the Colosseum in Rome to the London Eye.

In Paris, revellers converged around the glittering Champs-Élysées Avenue. Taissiya Girda, a 27-year-old tourist from Kazakhstan, expressed hope for a calmer 2026.

“I would like to see happy people around me, no war anywhere,” she said. “Russia, Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, I want everybody to be happy and in peace.”

In Scotland, where New Year’s is known as Hogmanay, First Minister John Swinney urged Scots to follow the message of Auld Lang Syne by national poet Robert Burns and show small acts of kindness.

Greece and Cyprus turned down the volume, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics. Officials said the change is intended to make celebrations more welcoming for children and pets.

Middle Eastern countries throw grand celebrations

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates lit up their night skies, holding grand celebrations to mark the start of 2026.

Thousands gathered in Qatar’s Lusail district to ring in the New Year on Thursday with a dazzling fireworks display.

In Dubai, the world’s tallest building was lit in celebration, as fireworks exploded around it. Abu Dhabi saw plenty of fireworks following a drone display that gave viewers unique visuals of the countdown appearing in the night sky.

In Gaza, where hundreds of thousands have been displaced by more than two years of war, Palestinians said they hope the New Year brings an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“We hope that it will be a good year for our people in Palestine,” said local resident Faraj Rasheed, noting that thousands continue to live in harsh conditions in tent camps.

Others described 2025 as a year of loss.

“The war humiliated us,” said Mirvat Abed Al-Aal, displaced from the southern city of Rafah.

N.Z. lights up for 2026, defiant celebration in Australia

South Pacific countries were the first to bid farewell to 2025.

Clocks stuck midnight in Auckland 18 hours before the famous ball drop in New York’s Times Square.

Auckland was the first major city to ring in 2026 with a five-minute display, launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, involving 3,500 fireworks

Australia’s east coast welcomed 2026 two hours after New Zealand.

In Sydney, the country’s largest city, celebrations were held under the pall of Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

Two gunmen targeted a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, killing 15 people and wounding 40.

A heavy police presence monitored the thousands who thronged to the waterfront to watch a fireworks show centred on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the annual event.

An hour before midnight, the massacre victims were commemorated with a minute of silence while images of a menorah were projected on the bridge pylons. The crowd was invited to show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.

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 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 said.

Indonesia and Hong Kong hold subdued events

In Indonesia, one of Australia’s nearest neighbours, cities scaled back festivities as a gesture of solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides that struck parts of Sumatra island a month ago, claiming more than 1,100 lives.

The capital, Jakarta, was not ringing in 2026 with its usual fanfare, choosing subdued celebrations with a program focused on prayers for victims, Pramono Anung, the city’s governor, said last week.

Munafri Arifuddin, the mayor of Makassar, urged residents of one of Indonesia’s largest cities to forgo parties, calling for prayer and reflection. “Empathy and restraint are more meaningful than fireworks and crowds,” he said.

Concerts and fireworks on Indonesia’s tourist island of Bali were cancelled and replaced with a cultural arts event featuring traditional dances.

Hong Kong, too, was ringing in 2026 without the usual spectacle in the sky over iconic Victoria Harbour, after a massive fire in November killed at least 161 people.

The facades of eight landmarks were turning into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight.

Many parts of Asia welcome the new year by observing age-old traditions.

In Japan, crowds were gathering at a Buddhist temple in Tokyo for a bell striking at midnight. In the South Korean capital, Seoul, a bell-tolling and countdown ceremony were being held at the Bosingak pavilion.

Quieter celebrations in Greece and Cyprus

Greece and Cyprus were ringing in 2026 by turning down the volume — replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics, light shows and drone displays in capital cities. Low-noise fireworks avoid the explosive bursts that generate the loud cracks of traditional displays.

Officials in the countries said the change is intended to make celebrations more welcoming for children and pets, particularly animals sensitive to loud noise.

Mamdani sworn in as NYC mayor

In New York City, Zohran Mamdani became mayor just after midnight, taking the oath of office at an historic, decommissioned subway station in Manhattan.

Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in as the first Muslim leader of America’s biggest city, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath.

“This is truly the honour and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said in a brief speech.