Cities around the world celebrate dawn of 2026 with thunderous fireworks

From Sydney to Paris to New York City, 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.

The countdown to 2026 was projected on to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, while in Moscow people celebrated in the snow.

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

In Rio de Janeiro, crowds packed two-and-a-half miles of Copacabana Beach for concerts and a 12-minute fireworks show, despite high tides and large waves that rocked the barges carrying fireworks.

Other events were more subdued. Hong Kong held limited celebrations following a recent fire at an apartment complex that killed 161 people. Australia saluted the new year with defiance less than a month after its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

In New York, crowds bundled up against the chilly temperatures cheered and embraced as the New Year’s Eve ball covered in more than 5,000 crystals descended down a pole and confetti fell in Times Square.

Revellers wearing tall celebratory hats and light-up necklaces had waited for hours to see the ball drop. The festivities also included Tones and I performing John Lennon’s Imagine just before midnight.

Moments after the ball dropped it rose again, sparkling in red, white and blue, to mark the country’s upcoming 250th birthday.

In Sydney, a heavy police presence monitored crowds watching the fireworks. Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the event, after two gunmen targeted a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15.

An hour before midnight, victims were commemorated with a minute of silence, and the crowd was invited to show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.

New South Wales premier Chris Minns had urged residents not to stay away from festivities, saying extremists would interpret smaller crowds as a victory.

“We have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime,” he said.

Elsewhere around the world, war and disasters cast shadows on festivities.

Indonesia scaled back celebrations in solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides in parts of Sumatra a month ago that killed more than 1,100. Fireworks on the tourist island of Bali were replaced with traditional dances.

Hong Kong rang in 2026 without fireworks over Victoria Harbour after the massive fire in November. Facades of landmarks were turned into countdown clocks and a light show at midnight.

And in Gaza, Palestinians said they hope the new year brings an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

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