Auckland has become the first major city to welcome 2025, with thousands of revelers counting down to the new year and cheering at colorful fireworks launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, and a spectacular downtown light show.
Thousands thronged to downtown or climbed Auckland’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point.
Thousands also thronged to downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point, and a light display recognizing Auckland’s Indigenous tribes.
It follows a year marked by protests over Māori rights in the nation of 5 million.
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.
Other cities around the world are readying with celebrations highlighting local cultures and traditions, after a year roiled by ongoing conflict and political instability.
In Australia, more than 1 million people are now expected at Sydney Harbor for the traditional fireworks.
British pop star Robbie Williams will lead a singalong and Indigenous ceremonies and performances will acknowledge the land’s first people.
Much of Japan has shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning, including swatting floor mats called “tatami” with big sticks.
The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth — alluding to the reptile’s shedding skin. Stores in Japan, which observes the zodiac cycle from Jan. 1, have been selling tiny figures of smiling snakes and other snake-themed products.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas will bid farewell to 2024 with old — and some new — traditions. Its annual eight-minute pyrotechnic show will be on in the Las Vegas Strip, with 340,000 people anticipated as fireworks are launched from the rooftops of nine casinos.
Nearby, the massive Sphere venue will display for the first time countdowns to midnight in different time zones.
Country music, football and a midnight race
In Pasadena, enthusiastic Rose Parade spectators were to camp out on the cold streets and ring in the New Year hoping for prime spots for the iconic Southern California tradition.
The parade precedes the Rose Bowl football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks on Jan. 1.
Thousands are to participate in a midnight 5K race following the parade route.
Some 200,000 people will flock to a party in Nashville, Tennessee, featuring a five-hour show by some of country music’s biggest stars. At midnight — an hour after New York’s — a 16-feet tall music note weighing 400 pounds will drop as fireworks light the sky.
Celebrations will echo around the globe as the New Year arrives in different time zones, with American Samoa among the last to welcome 2025 a full 24 hours after New Zealand.