Sydney has welcomed 2025 with a spectacular fireworks display – cheers erupted as the clock struck midnight and the skies lit up over the harbour.
In the minutes before, a countdown was projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with thousands joining in for the final 10 seconds.
As midnight struck, music boomed across the city and fireworks – as great in number as they were in variety – lit up the skies.
It joins Auckland, New Zealand, as the second major city to enter the new year.
Japan and South Korea are the latest countries to ring in the new year, marking the start of 2025 there.
In Japan, crowds have gathered at Tokyo’s Tokudai-ji temple to take part in the ringing of bells to usher in the new year.
Crowds are gathering around the Tokudai-ji temple in Tokyo, where the bell will ring in under five minutes to celebrate the start of 2025.
We can see people walking up to the temple and praying for the year ahead – a New Year’s Eve tradition in Japan.
South Korea’s new year celebrations will be muted this year after 179 people died when a Jeju Air Boeing 737 crash landed on December 29.
The Seoul Metropolitan government said its annual bell-ringing show would occur without performances.
New Year celebrations in South Korea have been cancelled or scaled back following December 29 plane crash at Muan International Airport.
The country entered a seven-day period of mourning after 179 people were killed when a Jeju Air Boeing 737 crash landed on December 29.
The Seoul Metropolitan government said its annual bell-ringing show would be a quiet one without performances and with a moment of silence following the tragedy.
