In pictures: Global celebrations welcome 2026 with hopes for peace

 

New Year's

In pictures: Global celebrations welcome 2026 with hopes for peace

The world welcomed 2026, from east to west, in accordance with time zone differences. Celebrations began Wednesday evening in the Pacific Ocean and spread to Asia and Europe, after the world bid farewell to 2025, a year marked by wars and natural disasters in various regions.
Midnight first arrived at the islands near the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Tonga, and New Zealand.

Sydney

The Australian city of Sydney welcomed the year 2026 with a fireworks display, held amid heavy security, weeks after an armed attack killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city.
Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations are world-renowned for their spectacular fireworks display, with 40,000 firework effects stretching 7 kilometers across buildings and boats along the harbor, including the iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

Organizers observed a minute of silence at 11:00 PM local time (12:00 GMT) to mourn the victims of the attack. The harbor bridge was illuminated in white, and a menorah, long used as a symbol of Judaism, was displayed on its pillars.
Sydney Mayor Lord Clover Moore said ahead of the event: "After a tragic end to the year for our city, we hope that New Year's Eve will be an opportunity to come together and look forward with hope to a peaceful and happy 2026."

Traditional Christmas celebrations in Bundai have been muted this year, and many events planned for New Year's have been cancelled.
Authorities deployed around 3,000 police officers, some carrying long weapons, in the city during New Year's celebrations that typically attract more than a million people.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said on Wednesday: "We must show defiance in the face of this horrific crime and say that we will not succumb to this kind of terror, and we will not change the way we live our lives in our beautiful city."

Moscow and Kyiv

In snowy Kyiv and Moscow, Ukrainians and Russians prepared to welcome the New Year, expressing their hopes for peace after nearly four years of conflict.
Larisa, a woman from central Moscow, said: "I hope the war ends. I think that's the main and most important issue for our country."

Many Ukrainians lamented that peace still seemed a distant prospect. But nine-year-old Olesya was more optimistic as she dressed warmly and visited the Christmas tree erected in front of St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kyiv.
She said: "I believe peace will come in the new year."

South Korea

In South Korea, thousands gathered at the Bosenjak Bell Pavilion, where a bronze bell was rung 33 times at midnight. This tradition is rooted in Buddhist cosmology, symbolizing the 33 heavens, and the ringing of the bells is believed to dispel bad luck and herald peace and prosperity in the coming year.

China

An hour to the west, celebrations and drumming took place in Juyong Passage, on the Great Wall just outside Beijing. Revelers wore headdresses and waved banners bearing the words "2026" and the horse symbol.
Next February marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse in the Chinese lunar calendar.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the annual New Year's fireworks display was cancelled after a November apartment complex fire killed 161 people. Instead, a light show under the theme "New Hopes, New Beginnings" adorned the facades of buildings in the Central district.

Croatia

In Croatia, the celebrations began early. Since 2000, the town of Vozne has started the countdown at noon, a tradition that has spread throughout the country. Crowds cheered and danced to music, all in broad daylight, and some wearing Santa hats jumped into the icy waters of Lake Bajer.

New York

Elsewhere, preparations began for the traditional New Year's Eve celebration. In New York City, where temperatures have dropped below freezing, organizers have started setting up security barriers and stages in anticipation of the crowds expected to gather in Times Square to watch the annual ball drop.

Brazil

On Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, the capital of Brazil, stages were set up for a massive concert and fireworks display known as "Revion." Organizers hoped to break their own 2024 Guinness World Record for the largest New Year's Eve celebration.