There are 24 different time zones in the world, meaning people across the globe start their new year’s countdowns at varying times.
So who chants ‘10..9..8…’ first – and who rings in the new year last?
Who celebrates New Year’s Day first?
Kiribati, part of the Line Islands in the central Pacific Ocean, is the first country to reel in the new year.
Kiribati is just 811km² and is the only country to enter GMT+14 – the earliest time zone in the world. At 14 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, this means the country watches the new year come in at 10am UK time.
By the time Londoners are readying their grapes and party horns, it’s 2pm on January 1 in Kiribati.
Where is Kiribati?
The Republic of Kiribati – a former British colony – lies far east of Australia and about 4,000km southwest of Hawaii. Interestingly, the island’s name is a respelling of the word ‘Christmas’ in the Kiribati language, and some even refer to it as Christmas Island - how apt.
It comprises one main island and roughly 32 atolls – small coral-reef islands that enclose a lagoon. These are scattered across a part of the Central Pacific Ocean roughly the same size as the United States.
The vast distances between some of the islands in the east and west relative to the International Date Line meant that parts of Kiribati had a 23-hour time difference.
In 1995, the country voted to move the International Date Line, making it the same day throughout the whole country.
Kiribati was the first nation to see in the Third Millennium and one of its islands, Caroline, was subsequently renamed Millennium Island to celebrate the occasion in the year 2000.
Who celebrates the new year last?
The countries last to ring in the new year are those to the east of Kiribati.
Some say this is Baker Island and Howland Island, but both are uninhabited so there will be no fireworks there. The next inhabited island to celebrate the new year is American Samoa – at 11am January 1st UK time, and on January 3rd in Kiribati time.
Hawaii, Alaska, and Pacific Standard Time zones in the US – California, Nevada – are next.
