Happy New Year! New Zealand's Auckland welcomes 2026 with fireworks | Video

An island country in the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati became the first place in the world to enter 2026, marking the start of global New Year celebrations. Hours later, New Zealand welcomed 2026 with fireworks lighting up the sky over Auckland, while residents in Tonga told the BBC they were hoping for “peace, hope, and blessing” in the year ahead.

New Zealand's Auckland welcomed 2026 with thousands of revellers counting down to the New Year and cheering at colourful fireworks launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, the Sky Tower, and a spectacular downtown light show.

Countries in the South Pacific are the first to welcome the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand arriving 18 hours before the ball drops in New York’s Times Square.

The five-minute fireworks show featured around 3,500 fireworks launched from different levels of the 240-metre (787-foot) Sky Tower. However, several smaller community celebrations across New Zealand’s North Island were called off on Wednesday due to forecasts of rain and possible thunderstorms.

Australia plans defiant New Year celebrations

Australia’s east coast welcomes 2026 two hours after New Zealand, but festivities in Sydney, the country’s largest city, are taking place under the shadow of the deadliest mass shooting Australia has seen in nearly three decades. On December 14, two gunmen attacked a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and injuring 40 others.

Thousands gathered along Sydney’s central waterfront on Wednesday to watch the traditional fireworks display around the Sydney Harbour Bridge, under tight security. Police maintained a heavy presence, with many officers visibly carrying rapid-fire rifles — a first for the annual New Year’s Eve event.

Ahead of midnight, the victims of the attack will be honoured with a minute’s silence, as images of a menorah are projected onto the bridge pylons. Organisers have also urged the crowd to show support for Australia’s Jewish community by switching on their phone torches across the harbour.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns appealed to residents not to stay away out of fear, warning that extremists would see reduced crowds at New Year’s Eve celebrations as a win.

“We can’t be in a situation where this horrible, criminal, terrorist event changes the way we live in our beautiful city,” Minns told news agency AP.

“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 added.