Celebrations have begun across the globe as countries begin to welcome in the start of 2026.
Events to mark New Year’s Eve in Sydney, Australia were more sombre than previous years, after the Hanukkah shooting at Bondi Beach earlier this month which took the lives of 15 people.
The Australian city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations are known globally for their spectacular fireworks, with 40,000 pyrotechnic effects stretching seven km (four miles) across buildings and barges along its harbour, including the city’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House.
But this year organisers held a minute’s silence for the victims of the attack at 11:00 pm local time, with the Harbour Bridge lit up in white and a menorah – a symbol long used to symbolise Judaism – projected onto its pylons.
Revellers shone their torches, held aloft, in solidarity and as the minute ended, a white dove and the words “peace” and “unity” lit up the harbour.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a video message: “Right now, the joy that we usually feel at the start of a new year is tempered by the sadness of the old.”
An image of a menorah wasprojected onto the pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge during New Year’s Eve celebrations. (Photo: Izhar Khan/Getty)New Year events planned at Bondi Beach were cancelled.
Around 3,000 police were deployed to cover the event in Sydney this year, which typically attracts more than a million revellers, carrying long-arm firearms for the first time.
Chris Minns, New South Wales Premier, said: “We have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime and say that we’re not going to be cowed by this kind of terrorism, and we’re not going to change the way we live our life in our beautiful city.”
Sydney's famous New Year's Eve fireworks dazzle again as Australia welcomes in 2026 pic.twitter.com/HeBZiJVqfN
— The Associated Press (@AP) December 31, 2025Celebrations in Brisbane and Canberra were slightly dampened thunderstorms and rain.
Auckland was the first major city to welcome in 2026, with a spectacular fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest building the Sky Tower.
Around 3,500 fireworks were let off from different levels of the 240-metre tower in a five-minute display.
But some events on the North Island had to be cancelled due to rain and thunderstorms.
Drones lit up the night sky to celebrate the New Year in Busan, South Korea. (Photo: Kang Sun-bae/Yonhap/AP) 2026 has arrived in Busan, South Korea (Photo: Kang Sun-bae/Yonhap/APNew Year celebrations in Indonesia, like those in Sydney, were tempered by recent events.
Several regions, including the capital Jakarta and the popular tourist island of Bali, decided to forgo firework displays out of respect for the victims on Sumatra, where floods and landslides have killed over 1,100 people, with around 400,000 still displaced.
In South Korean capital Seoul, the end of 2025 and start of 2026 was marked with a bell-ringing ceremony, while the Countdown Festival in the city of Busan saw the traditional Bell of Hope, Bell of Love and Bell of Peace ringing 11 times Yongdusan Park ring and a spectacular drone show.
Hong Kong greeted 2026 in a muted manner as well, without fireworks over its iconic Victoria Harbour.
Drummers put on a show during the 2026 Beijing New Year Countdown celebration at the Juyongguan Great Wall on January 01, 2026 in Beijing, China. (Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty)The decision to scrap them this year came after a massive fire in November which killed at least 161 people.
Instead, the city’s tourism board hosted a music show and the facades of eight landmarks turned into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight.
Thailand’s capital Bangkok marked the start of 2026 with a massive drone display, followed by fireworks. While in Beijing, China, the new year was drummed in at the Juyongguan Great Wall.
Meanwhile, in the UK crowds have begun to gather along the river in London in readiness for the traditional fireworks and light show.
The ticketed event attracts more than 100,000 along the banks of the Thames.
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This year the viewpoint at Primrose Hill in Camden has been closed due to safety concerns, following the death of 16-year-old Harry Pitman during the New Year’s Eve fireworks viewing in 2023.
Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh are also well underway with a torchlight procession, a massive outdoor street party, a live headline concert and fireworks all part of the Scottish city’s plans to see in 2026.
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