Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
People around the world are celebrating the start of 2026, with New York’s iconic Times Square Ball landing 18 hours after setting sail in the South Pacific to welcome the new year.
Drummers in Asia are ringing in 2026 and fireworks Light up the sky.
Russians celebrated in snowy Moscow, while Dubai put on a somersaulting motorboat light show. In Japan, temple bells ring and some people climb mountains to see the first sunrise of the year.
.jpg)
Other incidents were more benign. Hong Kong Holdings Limited celebration Recently, a fire broke out in an apartment building, killing 161 people. Australia is welcoming the new year with defiance, less than a month after its worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years.
A large number of police officers monitored crowds watching fireworks in Sydney. After two gunmen targeted Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people, many police officers openly carried rapid-firing rifles, a first for the event.
An hour before midnight, a minute’s silence was observed for the victims and crowds were invited to show solidarity with Australia’s Jewish community.
New South Wales Premier Chris Mings urged residents not to stay away from the celebrations and said extremists would see the reduced numbers as a victory: “We must show resistance in the face of this horrific crime.”
Indonesia scaled back celebrations in solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides in parts of Sumatra a month ago that killed more than 1,100 people. Fireworks give way to traditional dance on the tourist island of Bali.
Following November’s fires, there will be no fireworks over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor in 2026. The landmark’s facade transforms into a countdown clock and midnight light show.
In Gaza, Palestinians say they hope the new year will bring an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. “The war humiliates us,” said Mirwat Abed Al-Al, a displaced person from the southern city of Rafah.
Pope Leo XIV ended the year by calling on the city of Rome to welcome foreigners and vulnerable people. Fireworks are planned to be set off at European landmarks, from the Colosseum to the London Eye.
In Paris, revelers gathered on the glittering Champs Elysées. Taissiya Girda, a 27-year-old tourist from Kazakhstan, expressed hope that 2026 will be calmer.
“I want to see happy people around me and no war anywhere,” she said. “Russia, Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, I want everyone to be happy and peaceful.”
In Scotland, where New Year is known as Hogmanay, First Minister John Swinney has urged Scots to show small acts of kindness by following the message of national poet Robert Burns’ Auld Lang Syne.
Greece and Cyprus have lowered the volume, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics in their capitals. Officials said the change was made to make the celebration more welcoming to children and pets.
New York City police plan to take additional counterterrorism measures at the Times Square drop ball and deploy “mobile screening teams.” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said this was not a response to a specific threat.
After the ball falls, it will rise again, flashing red, white and blue, to commemorate the country’s upcoming 250th birthday. Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor at midnight in a private ceremony at an old metro station.