Several countries, including India, welcomed 2025 with grand celebrations, as crowds gathered to bid farewell to a year that saw global milestones such as Olympic triumphs, Narendra Modi’s hattrick as India’s Prime Minister, Donald Trump’s dramatic political comeback, and persistent unrest in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Closer to home, 2024 is set to be remembered as the hottest year in recorded history, with climate-driven calamities leaving their mark from the flood-hit plains of northern India to the Himalayan regions of Nepal.
Here’s how world welcomed New Year 2025:
India: Thousands of revellers in the financial hub of Mumbai flocked to the city’s bustling promenade facing the Arabian Sea.
New Year celebrations began in many cities with parties, cultural events, live music performances, and themed decorations.
In Delhi, famous spots like Hauz Khas, Connaught Place, and Lajpat Nagar were filled with large crowds celebrating the New Year. Hence, Delhi Police had made prior security arrangements to ensure a safe celebration.
Australia: Sydney – the self-proclaimed “New Year’s capital of the world” – sprayed nine tonnes of fireworks from its famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge at midnight local time (1300 GMT).
Fireworks blasted off the Sydney Harbor Bridge and across the bay. More than a million Australians and others gathered at the 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.
England: Thousands of people saw in 2025 on the banks of the River Thames as London defied weather concerns with a spectacular firework display. The weather forced outdoor celebrations in Edinburgh and other places across the UK to be cancelled, but London’s annual display went ahead in clear skies.
After Big Ben marked the start of the new year, the 11-minute display began with the message “Your New Year Is Unwritten”. To a diverse soundtrack covering the likes of Vera Lynn, Sir Elton John, Travis, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, One Direction and Charli XCX with voiceovers from people including Dame Imelda Staunton and Sir Ian McKellen, the celebration looked back at 2024 with topics including the weather, the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, Euro 2024.
New Zealand: 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 were 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.
Thailand: In Bangkok, shopping malls compete for crowds with live musical acts and fireworks shows. A fireworks display in Jakarta, Indonesia, featured 800 drones.
UAE: In Dubai, thousands attended a fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper. And in Nairobi, Kenya, scattered fireworks were heard as midnight approached.
Rome’s traditional New Year’s Eve festivities have an additional draw: the start of Pope Francis’ Holy Year, the once-every-quarter-century celebration projected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to the Eternal City in 2025.
On Tuesday, Francis will celebrate a vespers at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by Mass on Wednesday, when he is expected to again appeal for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East.
January 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary.