Cities around the world ring in the New Year with 2025 firework displays

Fireworks displays are appearing in cities across the world to celebrate the arrival of 2025 in New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Why It Matters

Fireworks are traditionally used to celebrate the New Year and other major events in cities across the world, although light displays using technology like drones have emerged as an increasingly popular alternative.

What To Know

While dramatic New Year’s fireworks displays are expected in major cities across the United States later in the night, residents of the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia were among the first to ring in 2025.

Additional celebrations are taking place in other parts of the world later due to time zone differences.

Australia Rings in the New Year With 2025’s Earliest Major Fireworks Show

A fireworks display near the iconic Sydney Opera House was one of the earliest 2025 celebrations to take place, with the city being 16 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone.

The following photos from Getty reveal the fireworks show late on Tuesday night and early on Wednesday morning at Sydney Harbor, where an estimated 1 million people watched the display:

Fireworks Light Up Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor in 2025 Celebration

A massive fireworks celebration was viewable in Hong Kong hours after the show in Sydney. Images from Getty show Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor ringing in the New Year with a colorful display.

Illuminated Skyscrapers Complement Philippines Fireworks Display

Skyscrapers in Makati, a city in the Manila metro region, glowed a bright yellow during a New Year’s fireworks and light show celebration near the Philippines capital on Tuesday night.

The display is shown in the following photos from Getty:

Residents of Jakarta Celebrate the New Year With Fireworks Show at Beach

The following photos show locals enjoying fireworks at Ancol Beach in Jakarta to celebrate the beginning of 2025 in Indonesia:

Dubai Reveals Spectacular New Year’s Display at World’s Tallest Building

The following photo from Getty shows Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, displaying the year “2025” amid a fireworks display and light show in the early morning of January 1, 2025:

This additional view of the show features a different part of the light display on and near Burj Khalifa:

This is a developing story and will be updated.