With that, we are ending this live New Year’s coverage. A very very happy 2025 to all of you, and thank you as always for reading. May your year involve lots and lots more reading of all kinds – and more confetti:
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Good news for home buyers in the UK in 2025: experts have predicted a “buyer’s market” for house hunters in the year ahead, giving them greater negotiating power as the mood of the housing market shifts to “cautious optimism”.
However, even the more hopeful expectations for 2025 were met with caution, as an important stamp duty relief for first-time buyers was scheduled to end in the spring, as well as potentially high interest rates and taxes bearing down on the market.
Photographs from Brazil, Slovenia and the US:
Next up are the central USA, Mexico City, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and a small part of Ecuador.
It is very newly the year 2025 on the US east coast – New York City, Washington DC, Detroit – as well as parts of Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba, Acre in Brazil, Panama, a small part of Mexico, Haiti, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, a small region of Chile, and the Cayman Islands.
And – why not? – more!
Here are some photographs from the celebrations in Times Square:
The ball has dropped, it is 2025 in New York City and much of the rest of the world. Auld Lang Syne plays over the screams and cheers of the crowd, followed by Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York.
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The ball is sparkling purple, and the countdown has begun: 20 seconds to go.
Five minutes to go until the ball drop in New York City.
The organisation managing Times Square has tested the drop and inspected 2025 numerals, lights and thousands of crystals as part of a tradition going back to 1907. This year’s celebration includes musical performances by TLC, Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
By Tuesday evening, people who had been in line for hours moved through a gauntlet of security checks, and then rested up for the night of performances and cheering ahead, with some even laying on the pavement.
“It’s the biggest party in the world. There’s no other place to celebrate New Year’s than Times Square,” said Tommy Onolfo of Long Island, who started attending regularly eight years ago.
Some different ways to ring in the new year across the globe:
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There’s a bit of rain in New York but that hasn’t dampened spirits for revellers in Times Square waiting for the ball to drop.
The fireworks and ball drop in Times Square, New York, will take place in just over an hour.
The Americas start to enter 2025
The clock has struck midnight in parts of the Americas, including some of Brazil, Argentina, part of Chila, French Guiana and Bermuda.
Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada have also started the new year, and on the hour, so will Venezuela, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, Guyana.
Here are pictures from celebrations in Germany, Brazil, India and Colombia:
New Year’s Eve revellers in Australia have largely been praised for their behaviour at the country’s biggest fireworks shows, while officers were kept busy with outbursts of trouble around local fireworks.
More than a million people swarmed the main vantage points around Sydney harbour and hundreds of thousands of Melbourne partygoers were treated to a fireworks and laser spectacular.
Police in both cities said the vast majority of partygoers enjoyed the night safely, although officers were kept busy with violence away from the main celebration areas:
“There are warnings of gales. Wintry showers, rain later, moderate or good. The familiar rhythms and cadences of these misty, magical phrases have now been familiar to British islanders for a whole century. They are communicated to us at strange, twilit times, every weekday at 12.48am and 5.20am, with an extra gust of early-evening drama at 5.54pm at weekends”.
Here is our story on 100 years of the Shipping Forecast, by Jude Rogers:
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.
Jan. 1 is a day of obligation for Catholics, marking the Solemnity of Mary.
100 years of the BBC's Shipping Forecast
The BBC is celebrating 100 years of a suprisingly soothing weather forecast for sailors in British waters that has inspired musicians and poets and become an immovable fixture on UK radio, AFP reports.
The Shipping Forecast, providing predictions by the Met Office on expected wind speeds, sea state, weather and visibility, began as a vital service to sailors and sea captains who may be in peril at sea.
Modern seafarers can now rely on sophisticated forecasting technology but the calm, rhythmic delivery of the forecast by one of BBC Radio 4’s silky-voiced continuity announcers has turned the forecast into something of a beloved British institution.
Radio 4 controller Mohit Bakaya described the Shipping Forecast as a “cherished ritual” and “one of our national treasures”.
He said the centenary would be marked with a day-long series of programmes on Wednesday.
The service was set up in 1867 in response to a storm off north Wales eight years earlier that led to the death of 800 people and the loss of 133 ships, according to the Met Office.
It was initially transmitted by telegraph before being first broadcast on radio on 1 January 1924 and taken over by the BBC in October 1925.
Sea areas around the British Isles with mysterious names such as “Viking”, “Dogger”, “Sole”, “Lundy” and “Fastnet” are covered in the forecast which is peppered with phrases such as “rain at times, moderate or good”, “becoming cyclonic” and “falling slowly”.
The poetic sounding names of coastal weather stations such as “Tiree”, “Ronaldsway and “Sandettie Light Vessel Automatic” also feature, adding to its appeal.
Here are some more photographs of celebrations (and naps) from around the world – Brazil, China, Portugal and the US:
NPR producer Martin Patience has posted a photograph of the fireworks in Damascus, Syria earlier this evening:
Happy new year from #Damascus pic.twitter.com/0ZrWHdjym6
— Martin Patience (@martinpatience) December 31, 2024
The world’s largest time capsule is due to be opened this year. Put together in 1977, it contains 5,000 items, “ranging from small items such as books to large objects such as automobiles.”
It was made by a small-town Nebraska store owner named Harold Keith Davisson, who chose the items with his grandchildren in mind.
It will be opened on 4 July 2025.
Here is a video of New Year’s celebrations around the world so far:
Three baby boys born at stroke of midnight in South Korea
Three women have given birth to baby boys at the stroke of midnight in Goyang, South Korea, the Chosun Daily reports.
In South Korea, 2025 is the Year of the Snake.
Their names:
The first newborns of the year were nicknamed “Dingguli,” born to mother Koo Seul-ki, 35, and father Kang Woo-seok, 41; “Kkomuli,” born to mother Koo Ra-gyeom, 27, and father Lee Hyo-young, 38; and “Nikke,” born to mother Lee Seung-hyun, 33, and father Park Jun-soo, 36. The babies weighed 3.29 kilograms, 3.12 kilograms, and 3.1 kilograms, respectively.
Here is Paddington in the London Eye, with what must be an especially large marmalade sandwich under his hat:
"Mrs Brown says that in London everyone is different, and that means anyone can fit in."
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) January 1, 2025
Thank you @paddingtonbear for being part of our New Year Fireworks! ❤️🎉✨️ pic.twitter.com/RsbT7x2kDM
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has posted his New Year’s message and a video of the fireworks, which says, “Greatest city in the world. Greatest fireworks in the world. Happy New Year, London!”:
Greatest city in the world.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) January 1, 2025
Greatest fireworks in the world.
Happy New Year, London! ❤️🎉✨️#HappyNewYear #NewYear pic.twitter.com/fQlMBWXgpK
Here are more photographs from the procession:
While elsewhere in the country, people took part in the 101st traditional “Achetringele” procession in Laupen. This photograph shows Young “Baesemanne” (broom men), who hold long-handled juniper brooms and wear wooden masks and air-filled pig bladders called “Soeiblaatere”:
The festive procession, which starts from Laupen Castle, uses the pig bladders, as well as bells, brooms, and the masks to drive away demons and evil spirits.
The leader of the procession announces New Year’s wishes, followed by a chase with the inflated Soeiblaatere. Originating a century ago, the parade features masks crafted in 1924, and its roots may date back to the Germanic Julfest.
“Achetringele” means ‘ring down,’ symbolizing the banishment of the old year.
In Switzerland, some brave souls farewelled 2024 with a swim in icy waters:
Fireworks over the London Eye:
Here is another view of the fireworks over the Arc de Triomphe in Paris:
Hello from the other side of the world and 11 hours into the future, this is Helen Sullivan taking over our live coverage.
It is 11.21 here in Sydney, sunny, and most of my colleagues on the international desk have already had a swim: 2025 is looking good so far.
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And with that I am handing over to my colleague Helen Sullivan on the other side of the world in Australia. It just leaves me to point out that my co-pilot Willow this evening has not been the most enthusiastic contributor to the live blog – and has basically slept through the whole thing, local fireworks and all. Which is probably a blessing.
Please let me take this opportunity, on behalf of everybody at the Guardian and the Observer in the UK, to wish you a very happy new year, and one that is as peaceful as it can be. I will see you on the website somewhere again soon.
Paddington Bear, voiced by Ben Whishaw, has wished everybody a happy new year at the London fireworks – the character seems ubiquitous at public events in the UK now – then there was a short burst of Auld Lang Syne, and we are done!
Part of the fireworks display in London has celebrated that it is 25 years since the London Eye itself was formally opened by the-then prime minister Tony Blair on 31 December 1999.
It was originally only given permission to be there for five years as a temporary attraction, but it is very difficult to imagine the central London skyline without it now.
There is always a tiny bit of lag on the images of the London fireworks display arriving to us over the newswires, but we just got the first one, and it is a keeper.
The London firework display has so far paid tribute to Team GB achievements in the Paris Olympics, and England’s men’s football team’s near-miss at Euro 2024. There was a section dedicated to Charli xcx’s signature brat green, and a rather more sombre reminder that it was the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings in 2024.
Big Ben is chiming …
UK sees in 2025 with spectacular London fireworks display as weather chaos cancels events elsewhere
The UK has greeted 2025 on a night when weather disrupted planned celebrations across Scotland and northern England, while crowds in London gathered for a firework display that went ahead despite the conditions.
Crowds had gathered in central London for the traditional display that centres around the London Eye on the River Thames.
London’s mayor Sadiq Khan, announcing that the event would go ahead as planned, said: “I’m really excited about the London New Year’s Eve fireworks, the biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe. Hundreds of thousands of fireworks, great light display but also a great soundtrack tonight as well.”
An amber warning for heavy rain was been put in place across parts of north-west England until 9am on New Year’s Day, PA Media reporter.
The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District. The warning states that heavy rain is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
Some celebrations in Edinburgh had already been disrupted after a decision on Monday to cancel outdoor event due to the risk of weather conditions.
In a message ahead of the new year, UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, compared the task his government faces with that the Attlee government faced in 1945, and said there would be “a year of rebuilding”.
Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch told voters to “Watch this space” as she said the Conservative party faced “a long term project” of renewal and that “Things may be bumpy along the way.”
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Television coverage in the UK is switching to the fireworks in London …
My colleagues in Australia have put together this gallery of great images from the new year celebrations there – where the weather looks significantly better than in the UK.
By the way, if you think I am freewheeling a bit on the live blog here, Sophie Ellis-Bexter has just introduced on stage on BBC One a giant full-sized resin horse replica face-painted as David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane character, which she claimed she bought online during lockdown. I feel safe that I will not be doing anything as weird as that.
As we build up to midnight in the UK, here are some more striking photographs of new year celebrations from different countries around the world.
Do you fancy another round-up of the year before we hit midnight in the UK? Of course you do. The Tom Jenkins’ best sport photographs of 2024 gallery is well worth a couple minutes of your time.
Here are a couple of images from London where crowds have gathered for the firework display.
Robbie Williams has also been working hard this evening. He was the top billed interviewee on the Graham Norton Show on BBC One earlier tonight, and was also living it up headlining ABC’s celebrations in Sydney. I should have roped him in to help with the live blog too.
While I know that there will be readers of this blog from all over the world at the moment – and I notice some of our Australian readers in the comments are already up and several hours into the new year – with it coming up to less than half hour to go until midnight in the UK and me being based in London, I’m going to put my focus there for a little while.
I’ve just put the Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s New Year’s Eve Disco Party on BBC One on in the background. She is not entirely my personal cup of tea to be honest, but I actually saw her live the other week supporting the Human League at Wembley Arena, and I have to say I was left in awe at her ability as a support act to get a whole arena up and dancing and signing along. It was like being at a Joe Wicks’ workout, but with Abba cover versions.
Here are some more pictures from around the world as cities see in the new year.
Here is a view of the fireworks over the Quadriga sculpture on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
Paris, Rome, Berlin, Brussels and Madrid greet the New Year
It has turned midnight across large swathes of western Europe, with crowds greeting the new year in the capitals and other many other cities of France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Spain.
PA Media has spoken to people in Edinburgh where weather warnings have forced the cancellation of outside celebrations for Hogmanay.
David Liew, a 59-year-old lawyer from Singapore, told the news agency “We’ll just walk around, you know, we see a lot of lights, a lot of stores. We’ll just walk around, take some pictures and hopefully make the best use of our time.”
Elisa Dorris, who is originally from Spain but now lives in Dublin, flew to Edinburgh with friends in order to see the fireworks. “We are very disappointed,” the 23-year-old said, “but we will try to have fun here in the Christmas market.”
Keir Starmer New Year's message vows to rebuild Britain as Labour did after second world war
Kiran Stacey is a political correspondent based in Westminster for the Guardian
Keir Starmer has promised to rebuild Britain as Labour did after the second world war as he enters a pivotal year for his premiership.
The prime minister said in his prerecorded new year message that 2025 would be a year of rebuilding, with his government looking to turn the corner after a turbulent first six months in power.
Starmer invoked the forthcoming 80th anniversary of VE Day in May as he compared the task his government faces with that the Attlee government faced in 1945.
Starmer said: “That is what we will be focusing on: a year of rebuilding. But also, rediscovering the great nation that we are, a nation that gets things done no matter how hard or tough the circumstances.
“We will have time to reflect on that this year, a chance, with the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day, to cherish the greatest victories of this country and the greatest generation that achieved it.
“But that victory, and indeed the peace and the prosperity that followed, all rested on that same foundation we must rebuild today. The security of working people, that is the purpose of this government, the goal of our plan for change. And we will push it forward in 2025.”
You can read more of Kiran Stacey’s report here: Keir Starmer vows to rebuild Britain as Labour did after second world war
Met Éireann has also weather warnings in place, with Cork and Kerry told to expect “persistent rain”, potentially causing “localised flooding” and “hazardous travelling conditions”.
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There is an entire social media sub-genre suggesting “if you start” a particular song or movie or TV show at a precise time tonight, something that happens will coincide with midnight. My favourites so far being that if you start Ghostbusters 2 at exactly 10.27 Bill Murray will wish you Happy New Year at midnight, companion Graham will wish Happy New Year at midnight if you start Doctor Who episode Revolution of the Daleks at 23:47pm, and the drums come in on Phil Collins’ epic In The Air Tonight on the stroke of midnight if you start it 20 seconds after 11.56pm. I haven’t tested any of these – I just like the ideas.
It is not midnight in Berlin yet, but crowds have already gathered and there have been some fireworks for them to enjoy.
It has just passed midnight in Kyiv, where people have gathered to see in the new year.
In a statement on his official Telegram channel president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he thanked “All who have been fighting for it [Ukraine] so steadfastly and so bravely for more than a thousand days. Our people. Ukrainians … who are going through all the difficulties with dignity. People for whom being citizens of Ukraine is a matter of pride. And for me, it is a matter of pride to be the president of such people. Ukrainians who prove: no cruise missiles can defeat a people who have wings!”
Earlier people gathered in one of the Kyiv metro stations to sing carols.
In the UK, PA Media reports that an amber warning for heavy rain has been put in place across parts of North West England until 9am on New Year’s Day.
The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District.
The warning states that heavy rain is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
You can find the latest weather warnings for the UK here.
If you’ve got a few minutes to spare while waiting for midnight to come along, can I tempt you with a picture news quiz?
In Russia president Vladimir Putin has given his traditional New Year’s Eve address to the nation.
Tass reports the address lasted 3 minutes 35 seconds and “was one of the shortest during his entire presidency”. It added “in his annual speech, the head of state recalled the main events of the outgoing year and spoke about the country’s upcoming prospects.”
A simple joy of being a journalist on New Year’s Eve is every now and again you get sent over the newswires a photoset from some local tradition which you don’t recall coming across before. These pictures are from Laupen in Switzerland, where a procession to chase away bad spirits includes people carrying pigs’ bladders filled with air, as you do. It looks a little bit like this …
One of the big choices in the UK – if you aren’t out partying – is what to watch on TV to see in the new year. BBC One has Sophie Ellis-Bexter hosting a disco party from 11.30pm, BBC Two has Jools’ Annual Hootenanny from the same time. ITV One has opted out of it all, with the news followed by a compilation of TikTok clips, while Channel 4 has gone for The Godfather: Part II, which starts just after 11pm. Cheery.
My tip? Put on 60 Songs: BBC Two at 60 from earlier this year on iPlayer. I’ve had it on in the background for half-an-hour and I’ve already had Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Bob Marley, Pet Shop Boys, Beyoncé, the Kinks and more. That will tide you over for a couple of hours.
Or want to watch something great from television in 2024 that you missed? Our top 50 best shows is here. (And also some ones to avoid here.)
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Can you have enough pictures of fireworks on New Year’s Eve? Probably not. My colleagues Elena Goodinson and Joe Plimmer on our picture desk have put together this gallery of some of the best views of the night so far …
One of the things I do enjoy about doing the live blog on New Year’s Eve is it gives me a chance to point you to some of the great reviews of the year we have published over the last couple of weeks, and always one of my personal favourites is the alternative sports awards, this year featuring some brilliantly weird quotes, the greatest dropped catch in cricket you will ever see, and a few very enjoyable animal cameos.
Here are some of the latest images of New Year’s Eve celebrations from around the world.
Time for another quiz while we wait for midnight to creep across the globe? Why not. How about tackling Patrick Barkham’s environment quiz of the year?
London's New Year's Eve fireworks event will go ahead
London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks event will go ahead at midnight despite weather concerns, PA Media reports.
Much of the UK faces heavy rain and strong winds, and even snow in some parts, leading to widespread disruption. Many planned have been cancelled, including high-profile outdoor celebrations in Edinburgh.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said:
I’m really excited about the London New Year’s Eve fireworks, the biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe. Hundreds of thousands of fireworks, great light display but also a great soundtrack tonight as well.
You can find the latest weather warnings for the UK here.
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In the UK, recently installed Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has issued a new year message. In the short clip, she says:
Happy new year. Like all of you, I am looking forward to a 2025 that is full of hope, security and prosperity.
The Conservative party is also going through a period of change. This process of renewal will be a long term project. Things may be bumpy along the way, but the party I now lead is going to do things differently. Watch this space.
Happy New Year! 🎉💥
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) December 31, 2024
I’m excited for 2025 and the challenges ahead. The renewal of the Conservative Party is underway.
Our country needs us to get this right. Under new leadership, we are committed to doing things differently, focusing on real solutions to the challenges we… pic.twitter.com/L3EOE5j0rh
The UK prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to issue a New Year’s Eve statement later tonight.
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The United Arab Emirates has just passed into 2025. In recent years the seven emirates have often competed to put on the most extravagant displays, with attempts to set world records for the number of drones used simultaneously. Earlier this evening the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, was lit up ahead of the celebrations.
One of the main reasons for having a live blog on New Year’s Eve is we get lots of great pictures and video footage of firework displays, and here are some clips from Sydney, a city that always prides itself on putting together a tremendous show.
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Those of you outside the UK may not necessarily be familiar with Susie Dent, who is the absolute queen of the English language on popular quizshow Countdown, and on her social media often posts an obscure word of the day.
SPOILERS: it is usually an obscure old word that nevertheless somehow manages to be incredibly relevant to the politics of today without her having to explicitly make her point.
Anyway, she has just posted her word for New Year’s Eve, which is “respair”. Dent says:
Word of the day is one I keep posting at the end of the year, hoping its time will come. “Respair”, from the 16th century, is fresh hope, and a recovery from despair. Here’s to a few drops of respair in 2025.
If you are in the mood for a bit of political context in the UK as we count down towards midnight, let me point you towards our Politics Weekly review of the year, featuring my colleagues John Harris, Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey.
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France’s president Emmanuel Macron has given a traditional New Year’s Eve address to the nation on television.
In it, Macron recalled that during 2024 France had hosted not only the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but also held events marking the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings, and the reopening of the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral.
However, France’s president conceded that his decision to call early parliamentary elections in June 2024 created more political instability in the country.
Macron said: “The dissolution caused more divisions in the Assembly than solutions for the French people.
“If I decided to dissolve, it was to give you back your voice, to regain clarity and avoid the threat of immobility. But lucidity and humility demand we acknowledge that at this time this has produced more instability than serenity, and I take full responsibility for that.”
Pour 2025, je nous souhaite d’être unis, déterminés et fraternels. pic.twitter.com/LMLVR8pdlK
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 31, 2024
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I am not one to judge, after all I am the person working on New Year’s Eve doing the live blog, but if you are reading this then over the next couple of hours I was going to – as well as bring you lots of pictures of fireworks – make some suggestions of ways to help your evening pass with some fun and jollity.
And quizzes are a great way.
So here is my first quiz suggestion of the evening, why not try Séamas O’Reilly & Dara O’Reilly’s quiz on how much news you remember from 2024?
It has just turned midnight in Pakistan. Earlier in Karachi, as is traditional, much was made of the final sunset of 2024 in the country, with people posing for photos against the background of the dipping sun. It always makes for a very photogenic scene.
Nepal has also seen in the new year, but 15 minutes earlier than neighbouring India. Nepal is one of only three places in the world with a timezone offset from GMT by the rather distinctive figure of 45 minutes. The Chatham Islands and Eucla are the others.
This is, I think, the fourth time I’ve done a New Year’s Eve live blog for the Guardian, and you inevitably find yourself interested in why that should be.
It takes about half hour for the sun to cross the whole of Nepal, and the country effectively straddles two timezones. So since 1986 the country has used Nepal Standard Time, which centres a meridian around the mountain of Gaurishankar, and offsets it at UTC+05:45, which makes more sense with the sun’s position at noon than picking a timezone either side.
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It has just turned midnight in India, and here are some photos of the people celebrating the arrival of 2025 in Mumbai.
If you are in the UK, then the Met Office has weather warnings in place across parts of Scotland, Wales and the north of England for snow, rain and wind. None of which suggests it would be a great night to go out to try to spot the northern lights, but the Met Office has suggested they might be visible.
PA Media reports that people in the east of Scotland, north-east England and Northern Ireland could be treated to sightings of the natural phenomenon. It quotes Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge saying:
Although the solar conditions are set fair to see the northern lights, unfortunately the meteorological conditions are not that helpful.
Scotland should provide the best chances but with unsettled conditions dominating it will be hard to get a guaranteed view.
Perhaps the best areas may be those along the eastern coast of Scotland.
Heavy rain and high winds are set to cause disruption in much of the country, with a widespread cancellation of New Year’s Eve events. You can find the latest weather warnings for the UK here.
Public firework displays and celebrations in Edinburgh, Blackpool, Newcastle, the Isle of Wight, and Ripon have already been called off.
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Hello, it is Martin Belam here in London taking over the live blog. I will be with you for the next few hours. If you want to get in touch you can email me at martin.belam@theguardian.com. I’d love to hear from people who have unusual plans for the evening, and to see pictures of your pets dressed up for new year. I also promise lots of still images of fireworks, and of course coverage of what world leaders have to say as the clock strikes midnight across the next few timezones.
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And it’s officially 2025 in Taiwan, as well as Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.
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Happy new year to our readers in the Philippines, where the clock has just struck midnight.
I’m Tom Ambrose and I’ll be covering the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s some photos of the celebrations in Manila …
There will be more muted celebrations in Puerto Rico, as nearly all of the US territory is without power after an underground power line failed.
A blackout hit early on Tuesday, leaving more than 1.3 million people in the dark.
Officials said it could take up to two days to restore power.
The outage hit at dawn, plunging the island into an eerie silence as electrical appliances and air conditioners shut down before those who could afford generators turned them on.
“It had to be on the 31st of December!” exclaimed one man, who only gave his name as Manuel to Associated Press, as he stood outside a grocery store in the capital of San Juan, grumbling about the outage that coincided with his birthday. “There is no happiness.”
Nearly 90% of 1.47 million clients across Puerto Rico were left in the dark, according to Luma Energy, a private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution.
Here’s some initial photographs of the new year being rung in, literally, in the Japanese capital Tokyo less than an hour ago.
In the next 15 minutes Beijing, Hong Kong, Manila, and Singapore will be among those celebrating the new year.
Celebrations are ongoing ahead of the next set of countries who will see in the new year.
A fireworks display in Taiwan has been attended by thousands in Taipei.
Meanwhile it may be several hours until Europe begins entering the new year, but there are already partygoers in the Spanish capital, Madrid.
In an earlier post we said that all of Australia had entered 2025.
That has now been corrected. Perth, WA, will celebrate the new year in just under 25 minutes
Events across the UK cancelled because of bad weather
A number of new years events across the United Kingdom have been cancelled because of bad weather.
The most notable casualty is Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. A fireworks display from the city’s castle at the top of the Royal Mile has been cancelled, as has a gig nearby by Texas.
A street party alongside Princes Street has also been scrapped. About 50,000 people were due to attend. Other events indoors are still scheduled to go ahead.
Public firework displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, the Isle of Wight, and Ripon have also been called off.
City Hall in London said it is monitoring the weather forecast “closely” ahead of the showpiece fireworks display over the River Thames.
Transport, including ferries to the Isle of Man, has also been affected by the weather.
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As of half an hour ago, more cities in Australia are now in 2025, with Darwin, Adelaide and Brisbane among those to see the clock strike twelve.
More than 1 million people watched Sydney’s fireworks, while hundreds of thousands took to the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne to watch the midnight displays.
Perth, capital of the Western Australia state, does not reach midnight for another 25 minutes.
Updated
Tokyo is among the cities that will see in the new year in about 15 minutes’ time. The Japanese capital has had festivities under way all evening ahead of the clock striking midnight.
South Korea will enter 2025 at the same time as their Japanese neighbours. On a day where protests continue after the impeachment of the country’s president Yoon Suk Yeol, some have already been celebrating the impending new year.
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There’s more new year’s messages from world leaders, as German chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for unity amid political pressure due to a poorly performing economy and the fall out from a deadly attack on a Christmas market.
Scholz, who faces an election in February that could see him removed from power, said that Germany was a country should remain united.
“Strength comes from solidarity. And we are a country that sticks together,” Scholz said in his New Year’s address, which will be broadcast Tuesday night.
“We have it in our hands together: we can make 2025 a good year.”
He acknowledged that Germany is still reeling from the Christmas market attack that killed five and injured more than 200 people in the eastern city of Magdeburg when a Saudi doctor drove his car into a crowd.
He was arrested on murder charges.
“We are stunned by this inhuman act. How can an insane assassin cause so much suffering?” Scholz said.
“And it is not only in Magdeburg that many are asking themselves: Where can we find the strength to carry on after such a catastrophe?”
Ahead of the election on 23 February, Scholz called on Germans to go vote and took a swipe at tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who twice this month called on people to choose the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
“You, the citizens, decide what happens in Germany. It’s not up to the owners of social media,” Scholz said.
President Vladimir Putin used his new year address to tell Russians that the country would move forward with confidence in 2025.
Putin‘s seasonal message was being broadcast at midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones, starting with Kamchatka and Chukotka in the far east, Reuters reports.
His message comes 25 years since he was named acting president on New Year’s Eve in 1999, when predecessor Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and apologised for the country’s post-Soviet turmoil in a speech that stunned Russians.
In his message, Putin said Russia had strengthened its unity in the first quarter of the 21st century, achieving significant goals and overcoming trials.
“And now, on the threshold of the new year, we are thinking about the future. We are confident that everything will be fine, we will only move forward. We know for sure that the absolute value for us was, is and will be the fate of Russia, the well-being of its citizens,” he said.
Putin paid tribute to Russian soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine, describing them as “true heroes”, but did not refer in detail to the state of the conflict or make predictions for how the battlefield situation would evolve in 2025.
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It’s now 2025 in Queensland – where they’re one hour behind the rest of the Australian east coast.
There are round 80,000 individual fireworks going off across the city’s skyline at the minute.
There are also big displays to the south of Brisbane on the Gold Coast and to the north on the Sunshine Coasts.
And there’s this earlier pic from Newcastle, New South Wales…
More pictures from the fireworks in Sydney.
Xi Jinping gives bullish message about Chinese prospects
On a slightly different note, Chins’s president, Xi Jinping, has sent out a positive new year message about the country’s sluggish economy.
Despite fears of growth well below the government’s targets, Xi claimed in a speech that the official growth targets of 5% for 2025 would be met.
His message rebutted concerns that Donald Trump’s incoming US administration will harm Beijing’s prospects in the new year.
“The current economic operation faces some new situations, challenges from the uncertainty of the external environment and pressure of transformation from old drivers of growth into new ones, but these can be overcome through hard work,” Xi said.
Here’s our full story:
And there are many events are taking place around the world ahead of the midnight celebrations.
There is already a massive crowd in Chongqing in western China ahead of midnight.
Here are some nice countdown clips of the Sydney show.
Bye Bye 2024 : l'Australie🇦🇺 vient de basculer en 2025, avec le traditionnel grand feu d'artifice au-dessus de la baie de Sydney. #NouvelAn2025 pic.twitter.com/EOpTkAXrgZ
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrancaises) December 31, 2024
🇦🇺2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ | AHORA - AÑO NUEVO 2025: Sydney, Australia: pic.twitter.com/00W2o63vVV
— Alerta News 24 (@AlertaNews24) December 31, 2024
Fireworks erupt over Sydney Harbour to bring in 2025
More than one million people are watching a spectacular fireworks display over Sydney Harbour Bridge to see in the new year.
With clear skies and a balmy temperature of 22C, the famous celebrations got into full swing a few seconds ago as the clocks hit midnight in Australia’s two most populated states of New South Wales and Victoria.
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It’s not quite such a lovely picture in the UK where high winds and heavy rain are forcing the cancellation of some New Year’s Eve events.
Edinburgh called off its official street parties yesterday because of the prospect of some nasty weather and the curse has spread further south today.
Firework displays have been called off inBlackpool, Newcastle, the Isle of Wight and Ripon, North Yorkshire.
Here’s the full story.
Sydney is the self-appointed “world capital of new year’s eve” but there are also large crowds out in Melbourne to see in 2025.
Families and groups gathered early along the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River, to secure a good view of the city’s skyline in anticipation of the 14 tonnes of fireworks shot from 27 buildings along with 60 lasers.
Domenic Adami and a group of friends picked their spot in Alexandra Gardens near the Yarra and set up a picnic before settling in for the midnight light show.
“I heard, this year, they’re going to be bigger than Sydney, but usually they’re pretty good,” Adami told Australian Associated Press.
“Even when I sit and watch it at home or from somewhere else on TV, it looks amazing.
“Each year has just gotten better and better, and this year seems like it’s going to be the best.”
The family-friendly fireworks went off over Sydney Harbour earlier before the main display at midnight (1pm GMT).
Another visitor to Sydney is British tourist who used to watch the images of harbourside fireworks a sa child and vowed one day to visit the harbour city.
The 28-year-old has found a vantage point in Balmain with friends and looking forward to the show.
“It is a bit of a bucket list thing for me,” she told AAP.
“At home the Sydney fireworks is always all over the news, it is one of the first places that brings in the New Year.”
Auckland has become the first major city to welcome 2025 a short while ago, with thousands of people counting down to the new year and cheering at fireworks launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, and a spectacular light show.
Thousands also thronged to downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point, and a light display recognizing Auckland’s Indigenous tribes. It follows a year marked by protests over Māori rights in the nation of 5 million.
Countries in the South Pacific are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking two hours before midnight in Sydney, 13 hours ahead of London and 18 hours before the ball drop in New York.
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The countdown is well and truly under way in Australia – at least in the country’s eastern cities where it is less than a hour to go before midnight.
Hundreds of thousands of people have already packed themselves into the best vantage points around Sydney harbour to wait for the famous New Year’s Eve fireworks show.
Many of those who will be bringing in the new year in Sydney are tourists such as Roman and Monica Gezernek from Germany who have been waiting for hours for the Sydney pyrotechnics.
“They’re world famous apparently so we have to see them,” Roman Gezernek told Australian Associated Press.
The pair will fly out to New Zealand on New Year’s Day to continue the trip of a lifetime.
“We’re pensioners so we’re just taking our time around the world,” he said.
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People around the world ring in the new year
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of New Year’s Eve celebrations from around the world as 2025 begins. We will bring you some of the best photos as people around the globe ring in the new year – well at least those parts of the world that use the Gregorian calendar. Other new years are available.
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