London has helped welcome in the New Year with a huge fireworks display as the UK and the world watched the spectacular scenes from surround the London Eye.
The UK has now joined many parts of the world in entering 2026 with stunning fireworks displays seen in Tokyo, Dubai, Seoul, Auckland, Sydney and more.
As crowds in areas surrounding the London Eye, some regular New Year’s revellers were left disappointed after a popular vantage point was closed this year.
People living near Primrose Hill have told of their anger after opaque green hoarding was installed around the park in an “unprecedented” measure to prevent revellers from entering to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks.
The Camden park has panoramic views of the capital and in 2024 an estimated 30,000 people celebrated New Year’s Eve there – but this year it is shut, with the gates locked from 8pm on Tuesday until 6am on New Year’s Day.
(Image: Getty Images)
Some of the park has been cordoned off with solid hoarding and temporary fencing, while other parts have just the temporary fencing to prevent would-be spectators from entering.
In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, a Met Police spokesperson underlined that the decision to close Primrose Hill was not taken by the force, but by the Royal Parks who had cited challenges in providing necessary crowd management.
Auckland has become the first major city to ring in 2026 with a fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, the Sky Tower.
How the world celebrated
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
It was followed by a defiant celebration in Australia in the aftermath of a mass shooting in the country.
South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball drops in New York’s Times Square.
The five-minute display in Auckland involved 3,500 fireworks launched from various floors of the 787ft Sky Tower.
Smaller community events were cancelled across New Zealand’s North Island due to forecasts of rain and possible thunderstorms.
(Image: AP)
Australia’s east coast welcomed 2026 two hours after New Zealand but in Sydney, the country’s largest city, celebrations were held under the pall of Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.
Two gunmen targeted a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 and wounding 40.
A heavy police presence monitored the thousands who thronged to the downtown waterfront on Wednesday to watch a dazzling fireworks show centred on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, in a first for the annual event.
(Image: Getty Images)
Fireworks are typically a celebratory centrepiece of Hong Kong’s New Year celebrations. Not this year.
The territory greeted 2026 without spectacular and colourful explosions in the sky over its iconic Victoria Harbor after a massive fire in November that killed at least 161 people.
The city’s tourism board instead hosted a music show Wednesday night featuring soft rock duo Air Supply and other singers in Central, a business district that also is home to the famous nightlife hub Lan Kwai Fong.
(Image: Getty Images)
The facades of eight landmarks turned into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight.
Elsewhere, fireworks explode from the Taipei 101 building during the New Year’s celebrations in Taiwan.
There was also amazing displays in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia as the world looks forward to more displays as the US and more celebrate during the night.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.