The world welcomes 2026: Explosive fireworks and stunning moments from New Year celebrations worldwide | Photos

Across continents, New Year celebrations blended tradition, spectacle, and reflection. While fireworks, light shows, and music filled the skies, people everywhere embraced the chance to start 2026 with hope and unity.

Written By Ravi Hari

Published1 Jan 2026, 12:34 AM IST

Fireworks explode during the New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand, January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa(REUTERS)

As 2025 drew to a close, people around the world bid farewell to a challenging year and welcomed 2026 with hopes of peace, prosperity and renewal.

From the Pacific islands to the Americas, the world welcomed 2026 with a spectacular mix of fireworks, music, and cultural traditions. Celebrations began in Kiritimati, Tonga, and New Zealand, before spreading to Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, as people everywhere bid farewell to 2025 and embraced the new year with hope, joy, and unity.

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Fireworks burst over the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the New Year celebrations in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. AP/PTI(AP12_31_2025_000404B)

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Visitors pray in front of lanterns attached with New Year's wishes of Buddhist followers at Jogyesa Temple in central Seoul on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

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Dancers perform on stage as people celebrate the New Year 2026 at the Juyongguan Great Wall, Beijing, on January 1, 2026. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP)

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Fireworks explode next to the Lotus Tower during New Year's Eve celebrations in Colombo on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP)

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Fireworks explode during the New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand, January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

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Residents of Damascus attend New Year's Eve celebrations in the capital's Old City on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Bakr ALkasem / AFP)

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Varanasi: People attend Ganga Aartias earthen lamps are lit on New Year's eve, at Dashashwamedh Ghat, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (PTI Photo) (PTI12_31_2025_000470A)

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Reveler film and catch falling balloons as they celebrate the start of 2026 during the New Year countdown event held at a shopping mall in Beijing, early Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

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Fireworks explode during the New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand, January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

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Drummers and singers ring in the new year at the Juyongguan Great Wall on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

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People burn old resolutions on the New Year at the Zojoji Buddhist temple, minutes after midnight Thursday Jan. 1, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

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People watch New Year’s Day celebration fireworks from the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Edgar Su TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

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People celebrate New Year's eve at a promenade in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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Revellers watch the New Year's Eve fireworks from the The Huc Bridge at Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)

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People watch the New Year’s Day celebration fireworks in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Noel Celis

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Fireworks explode from the Taipei 101 building during the New Year's celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

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People watch the New Year’s Day celebration fireworks in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Noel Celis

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A projection mapping is displayed on the surface of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building, to celebrate the New Year, in Tokyo, Japan January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato

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Fireworks explode during the New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand, January 1, 2026. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

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Revellers celebrate the New Year during Hong Kong's countdown celebrations in Central, Hong Kong, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by May JAMES / AFP)

(AFP)

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