Fireworks and farewells: World rings in 2025 with hope and uncertainty

From Sydney to Vladivostok, communities worldwide are ushering in 2025 with dazzling light displays, warm embraces, and icy plunges.

Auckland kicked off the celebrations as the first major city to welcome the New Year, drawing thousands to the downtown area and the city’s volcanic peaks for optimal views of the fireworks. A special light show also honored Indigenous peoples, The Associated Press reported.

The South Pacific nations were among the first to celebrate, with midnight in New Zealand arriving 18 hours before the iconic ball drop in Times Square, New York.

In contrast, conflict overshadowed New Year’s celebrations in regions like the Middle East, Sudan, and Ukraine.

Sydney, often dubbed the “New Year’s capital of the world,” illuminated the night sky with nine tonnes of fireworks launched from the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge at midnight local time (1300 GMT).

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“Just to see all the beautiful colours and enjoy being in this situation with so many people in wonderful Australia,” AFP quoted 71-year-old retired nurse Ruth Rowse as saying ahead of the display.

As champagne corks popped and New Year’s Eve parties kicked into gear along picturesque Sydney Harbour, many revellers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.

“It would be nice for the world if it all sort of fixed itself, sorted itself out,” insurance worker Stuart Edwards, 32, told AFP before the fireworks.

Taylor Swift brought the curtain down on her Eras tour this year, pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral and teenage football prodigy Lamine Yamal helped Spain conquer the Euros.

The Paris Olympics united the world for a brief few weeks in July and August.

Athletes swam in the Seine, raced in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower and rode horses across the manicured lawns outside the Palace of Versailles.

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Election upheaval

It was a global year of elections, with countless millions going to the polls across more than 60 countries.

Vladimir Putin prevailed in a Russian ballot widely dismissed as a sham, while a student uprising toppled Bangladesh’s reigning prime minister.

However, no vote was as closely watched as the November 5 contest that will soon see Trump back in the White House.

From Mexico to the Middle East, his looming return as commander-in-chief is already making waves.

The president-elect has threatened to pile economic pain on China and boasted of his ability to halt the Ukraine war within “24 hours”.

Hope and trepidation

Turmoil rippled across the Middle East as Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, Israel marched into southern Lebanon and doctored electronics exploded in a wave of Israeli assassinations targeting Hezbollah.

Civilians grew weary of the grinding war in Gaza, where dwindling stocks of food, shelter and medicine made a humanitarian crisis even bleaker.

“I lost many loved ones, including my father and close friends, starting from the beginning of the year,” Wafaa Hajjaj told AFP from Deir el-Balah, where masses of displaced residents now cram into crowded tents.

“May security and safety return, and may the war finally come to an end.”

There was hope and trepidation as the new year approached in Syria, which is still reeling after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Assad.

“We were hesitant to go out this year because of the security situation, but we decided to overcome our fears,” lawyer Maram Ayoub, 34, told AFP from the capital Damascus.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine inches towards its three-year anniversary in February.

Outgunned on its eastern flank, Ukraine must now contend with a Trump administration seemingly intent on winding back crucial military aid.

In his New Year’s Eve address Tuesday, Putin did not explicitly mention the war but praised the “courage and bravery” of Russia’s soldiers.

On the streets of Kyiv, teacher Kateryna Chemeryz wanted “peace to finally be obtained for Ukraine”.

Comebacks, football, festivals

With AI advances on the horizon and rampant inflation tipped to slow, there is plenty to look forward to in 2025.

Britpop bad boys Oasis will make a long-awaited reunion, while K-pop megastars BTS return to the stage after military service in South Korea.

Football aficionados will be treated to a revamped 32-team Club World Cup hosted by the United States.

And about 400 million pilgrims are expected at the spectacular Kumbh Mela festival on India’s sacred riverbanks – billed as the largest gathering of humanity on the planet.

The UK weather service has already forecast sweltering global temperatures for 2025, suggesting it is likely to rank among the hottest years recorded.

Yet forecasts of typically Scottish bad weather forced the cancellation of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party, a major tourist draw which last year attracted some 30,000 people.

In northern France, hardy souls donned traditional bathing suits to brave the cold waters of the Channel in the traditional last swim of the year.

Meanwhile, in wintry northern Japan, heavy snowfall stranded some travellers in airport departure lounges, as flights were scrapped.

With electric vehicle sales growing and renewable energy on the rise, there is a shred of hope that glacial progress on climate change may finally gain momentum in 2025.

On the stock front, Wall Street and Europe’s major indexes rang out the year with solid gains, as investors’ eyes turned to the impact Trump’s policies will have on the world economy.

With inputs from agencies