As New Zealand became the first to ring in the New Year, festivities around the world embraced the arrival of 2024 with fireworks, music, and cultural celebrations.
Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, as thousands thronged downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point. A light display recognized Indigenous people. 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. Fireworks blasted off the Sydney Harbor Bridge and across the bay.
More than a million Australians and others gathered at iconic Sydney Harbor for the celebration. British pop star Robbie Williams led a singalong with the crowd. The celebration also featured Indigenous ceremonies and performances that acknowledged the land’s first people. Much of Japan shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning. The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth — alluding to the reptile’s shedding skin. Other places in Asia will mark the Year of the Snake later with the Lunar New Year. In South Korea, celebrations were cut back or canceled during a period of national mourning following the Sunday crash of a Jeju Air flight at Muan that killed 179 people. In Thailand's Bangkok, shopping malls competed for crowds with live musical acts and fireworks shows. A fireworks display in Indonesia's Jakarta featured 800 drones. Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between the leaders who face tensions with the West. Xi told Putin their countries will “always move forward hand in hand,” the official Xinhua News Agency said. China has maintained ties and robust trade with Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022, helping to offset Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Putin. In India, thousands of revelers in the financial hub of Mumbai flocked to the city's bustling promenade facing the Arabian Sea
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