Here’s what New Year’s celebrations look like as the world rings in 2026

Fireworks and drone shows illuminate night skies around the world

CBC / The Associated Press 

For people in Canada, 2026 is getting ever closer after much of the world rang in the New Year at the stroke of midnight in their countries.

From Kirabati to the Croatia, billions of people have already kicked off the year with fireworks and light shows.

How to watch CBC’s Live Cross-Canada New Year’s Eve Countdown across all six time zones 

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.”

Fireworks explode over the London Eye to mark New Year’s celebrations. (Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters)

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

A child looks up as fireworks explode during New Year’s celebrations in Lusail, Qatar, on Thursday. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

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.

Fireworks explode around the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Fatima Shbair/The Associated Press)

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.

Palestinians walk past a sand sculpture reading ‘2026’ on the beach in Gaza City on New Year’s Eve. (Omar al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images)

“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.

Fireworks light up the sky over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House during New Year’s Eve celebrations. (Izhar Khan/Getty Images)

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.

A message of peace and unity is projected on to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, during New Year’s celebrations in Sydney. (Rick Rycroft/The Associated Press)

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.

Children perform a traditional Balinese dance to release the sun of 2025 and welcome the sun of 2026, during a New Year’s Eve celebration in Denpasar, on Indonesia’s island of Bali. (Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

Death toll from floods in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand passes 1,000, with hundreds missing

Indonesian man searches for missing wife after devastating floods

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.

People gather for New Year’s celebrations at the Zojoji Buddhist temple in Tokyo. (Eugene Hoshiko/The Associated Press)

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.

Fireworks explode over skyscrapers during New Year’s celebrations in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. (Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

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.

Additional security in New York City

Police in New York City will have additional anti-terrorism measures at the Times Square ball drop, with “mobile screening teams” in search of suspicious activity. It is not in response to a specific threat, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

Zohran Mamdani will take office as mayor at the start of 2026. Two swearing-in ceremonies are planned, starting with a private ceremonial event around midnight in an old subway station

Revellers celebrate in Times Square in New York. (Heather Khalifa/The Associated Press)

Ring in 2026 with CBC’s Live Cross-Canada New Year’s Eve countdown. Join Adrienne Arsenault, Jann Arden, Ian Hanomansing and Andrew Phung as celebrations unfold across all six time zones. Get details on where and when to watch.

With files from CBC News and Reuters

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