{"id":86405,"date":"2026-01-01T10:35:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/86405\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T10:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:35:07","slug":"cities-around-the-world-welcome-2026-with-thunderous-fireworks-and-heightened-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/86405\/","title":{"rendered":"Cities around the world welcome 2026 with thunderous fireworks and heightened security"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 From Sydney to Paris to New York City, crowds rang in the new year<\/a> with exuberant celebrations filled with thunderous fireworks or light shows, while others took a more subdued approach.<\/p>\n

As the clock struck midnight in Japan, temple bells rang and some climbed mountains to see the year\u2019s first sunrise, while a light show with somersaulting jet skis twinkled in Dubai. The countdown to 2026 was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, while in Moscow people celebrated in the snow.<\/p>\n

In New York City\u2019s Times Square, revelers braved frigid temperatures to celebrate with the famed New Year\u2019s Eve ball drop.<\/p>\n

In Rio de Janeiro, crowds packed more than 4 kilometers (2 1\/2 miles) of the city\u2019s Copacabana Beach for concerts and a 12-minute fireworks show, despite high tides and large waves that rocked barges carrying fireworks.<\/p>\n

Other events were more subdued. Hong Kong held limited celebrations following a recent fire at an apartment complex that killed 161 people. Australia saluted the new year with defiance less than a month after its worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.<\/p>\n

There was disaster in the Swiss resort town of Crans-Montana, where a fire at a bar<\/a> in the early hours of the new year killed multiple people.<\/p>\n

Ball drop in New York City<\/p>\n

Crowds bundled up against the chilly temperatures cheered and embraced as the New Year\u2019s Eve ball covered in more than 5,000 crystals descended down a pole and confetti fell in Times Square.<\/p>\n

Revelers wearing tall celebratory hats and light-up necklaces had waited for hours to see the 12,350-pound (5,602-kilograms) ball drop. The festivities also included Tones and I performing John Lennon\u2019s \u201cImagine\u201d just before midnight.<\/p>\n

The television hosts interviewed visitors who were attending from such places as Florida, Mexico and South Korea, and read people\u2019s wishes for the new year. A sixth grader from Dallas, Texas, told one of the hosts that he wants to get good grades in 2026 and have a better year.<\/p>\n

Police in the city had planned additional anti-terrorism measures at the ball drop, with \u201cmobile screening teams.\u201d It was not in response to a specific threat, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.<\/p>\n

Moments after the ball dropped it rose again, sparkling in red, white and blue, to mark the country\u2019s upcoming 250th birthday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A few miles away in a decommissioned subway station, Zohran Mamdani<\/a> was sworn in as mayor during a private event just after midnight Thursday.<\/p>\n

More security in Sydney<\/p>\n

A heavy police presence monitored crowds watching fireworks in Sydney. Many officers openly carried rapid-fire rifles, a first for the event, after two gunmen targeted a Hannukah celebration<\/a> at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, killing 15.<\/p>\n

An hour before midnight, victims were commemorated with a minute of silence, and the crowd was invited to show solidarity with Australia\u2019s Jewish community.<\/p>\n

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns had urged residents not to stay away from festivities, saying extremists would interpret smaller crowds as a victory: \u201cWe have to show defiance in the face of this terrible crime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shadows of war and disasters<\/p>\n

Indonesia scaled back festivities in solidarity with communities devastated by floods and landslides<\/a> in parts of Sumatra a month ago that killed over 1,100. Fireworks on the tourist island of Bali were replaced with traditional dances.<\/p>\n

Hong Kong rang in 2026<\/a> without fireworks over Victoria Harbor after the massive fire<\/a> in November. Facades of landmarks were turned into countdown clocks and a light show at midnight.<\/p>\n

And in Gaza, Palestinians said they hope the new year brings an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war humiliated us,\u201d said Mirvat Abed Al-Aal, displaced from the southern city of Rafah.<\/p>\n

Around Europe<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV<\/a> closed out the year with a plea for the city of Rome to welcome foreigners and the fragile. Fireworks erupted over European landmarks, from the Colosseum in Rome to the London Eye.<\/p>\n

In Paris, revelers converged around the glittering Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es avenue. Taissiya Girda, a 27-year-old tourist from Kazakhstan, expressed hope for a calmer 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to see happy people around me, no war anywhere,\u201d she said. \u201cRussia, Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, I want everybody to be happy and in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Scotland, where New Year\u2019s is known as Hogmanay, First Minister John Swinney urged Scots to follow the message of \u201cAuld Lang Syne\u201d by national poet Robert Burns and show small acts of kindness.<\/p>\n

Greece and Cyprus turned down the volume<\/a>, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics in capitals. Officials said the change was intended to make celebrations more welcoming for children and pets.<\/p>\n

In Crans-Montana, a fire that swept through a bar at 1:30 a.m. caused heavy casualties, according to police, who gave no firm death toll but planned a news conference later in the morning.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

By Ted Shaffrey and Hallie Golden of the Associated Press. Golden reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 From Sydney to Paris to New York City, crowds rang in the new year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86406,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-86405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}