World welcomes new year 2020

12:12 January 01

Millions welcome 2020 at Rio's Copacabana beach

Rio de Janeiro:Thousands gathered on Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana Beach to ring in the new year and decade in style.

Revelers from all over Brazil and abroad flocked to the beach for the celebrations, which included music and a 14-minute fireworks display.

Rio tourism officials expected three million people, including 1.9 million tourists, to visit the city for the start of 2020.

Many follow the traditions of the African Brazilian rites and religion by dressing in white to attract peace for the new year and celebrate near the water, throwing flowers at the sea and jumping over small waves.

11:45 January 01

Toronto celebrates arrival of 2020 with fireworks

Toronto:A huge crowd gathered near Toronto City Hall on New Year's Eve and welcomed the arrival of 2020.

Fireworks lit up the sky as crowds cheered to celebrate the start of a new decade.

11:07 January 01

Huge NYC Times Square crowd welcomes 2020

New York:Fireworks burst and confetti fell as throngs of revelers cheered the start of 2020 in New York City's Times Square.

In one of the globe's most-watched New Year's Eve spectacles, the crowd counted down the last seconds of 2019 as a luminescent crystal ball descended down a pole.

About 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) of confetti showered the sea of attendees, many of whom were also briefly rained on earlier in the evening as they waited in security pens for performances by stars including rap-pop star Post Malone, K-pop group BTS, country singer Sam Hunt and singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette.

The crowds packed into the heart of Manhattan mouthed lyrics and waved yellow and purple balloons in a frenzy as midnight approached.

07:53 January 01

Fireworks light up Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration

Edinburgh:Hogmanay revelers in Edinburgh were treated to a sparkling fireworks display as part of new year celebrations in the Scottish capital.

Edinburgh Castle was the backdrop to the display at the festival which draws thousands to the city each year.

06:19 January 01

UK welcomes 2020 with spectacular fireworks

LONDON

The chimes of Big Ben rang out over London marking the start of 2020 after being prepared for the special occasion amid the ongoing restoration.

Crowds gathered by the River Thames in the UK capital also witnessed a fireworks display centred around the London Eye.

Big Ben will not resume its regular duties until 2021 due to the restoration work at the Houses of Parliament which started in 2017.

05:58 January 01

Germany's Brandenburg Gate lit up by NYE fireworks

Berlin

Tens of thousands of revelers celebrated the biggest New Year's Eve celebrations at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. The crowd cheered as rockets exploded for more than eight minutes in the centre of the German capital.

05:53 January 01

Lebanon protesters celebrate new year's arrival

PARIS

Parisians witnessed a stunning light show and fireworks display at the Arc de Triomphe as the French capital partied on New Year's Eve. Celebrations were taking place across the globe on Tuesday night into Wednesday to mark the beginning of a new decade.

05:02 January 01

Light show and fireworks herald new year in Paris

CAPE TOWN

Cape Town in South Africa welcomed the new year with a fireworks display over the city's waterfront. Thousands of revelers watched the pyrotechnic extravaganza and celebrated the arrival of 2020 and a new decade.

04:48 January 01

Fireworks display lights up Cape Town waterfront

ATHENS

Fireworks lit up the sky above Athens' iconic Parthenon as Greece ushered in the beginning of 2020. Celebrations were taking place across the globe on Tuesday night into Wednesday to mark the beginning of a new decade.

04:22 January 01

Fireworks light up skies over Acropolis in Athens

Moscow

Moscow welcomed the start of 2020 with a dazzling fireworks display on the banks of the Moskva River.

One holiday tradition was missing in Moscow this year - a picturesque layer of snow.

The Russian capital has had an unusually warm December and temperatures, as midnight approached, were just above freezing.

Celebrations were taking place across the globe on Tuesday night into Wednesday to mark the beginning of a new decade.

03:19 January 01

Fireworks display over Moscow ushers in new year

DUBAI

Crowds gathered along the waterfront of the Dubai Fountain on New Year's Eve to cheer in 2020 with fireworks and a light show from the world's tallest tower.

The United Arab Emirates celebrated with a countdown projected from the Burj Khalifa tower followed by a firework display.

02:13 January 01

Fireworks in Dubai herald new year

SHANGHAI

Over 2,000 drones took off into the sky over Shanghai on Tuesday night to create a spectacular show, as the city marked the countdown to the new year.

The drones were arranged in a neat array near the bank of the Huangpu River.

They gradually lit up and rose, swooping, converging and dispersing, forming various shapes and three-dimensional patterns in the night sky.

The performance ended with the drones forming the numbers during the countdown to the year 2020.

01:54 January 01

Spectacular drone show over Shanghai welcomes 2020

SHANGHAI

Over 2,000 drones took off into the sky over Shanghai on Tuesday night to create a spectacular show, as the city marked the countdown to the new year.

The drones were arranged in a neat array near the bank of the Huangpu River.

They gradually lit up and rose, swooping, converging and dispersing, forming various shapes and three-dimensional patterns in the night sky.

The performance ended with the drones forming the numbers during the countdown to the year 2020.

23:43 December 31

Bangkok rings in 2020 with mammoth display

CHINA                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

China rang in the new year with cheerful celebrations and a light show in Beijing. Revelers gathered at one of the venues of the Beijing 2022 winter Olympics to welcome the new decade with a stage performance and a new year countdown under sparkling confetti, followed by a spectacular light show.

22:38 December 31

Spectacular lightshow in Beijing welcomes 2020

TAIWAN                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

A large crowd gathered by Taiwan's Taipei 101 tower to mark the start of the New Year. The capital's iconic building lit up with fireworks when the clock struck midnight.

Crowds cheered as the fireworks snaked down the sides of the 508 meters tall building.

22:29 December 31

Fireworks from Taipei 101 Tower celebrate 2020

HONG KONG

A toned-down New Year's celebration was held in Hong Kong as pro-democracy protesters flocked to sites across the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Hong Kong's Tourism Board announced on Tuesday that it would scrap its traditional fireworks display amid safety concerns relating to the ongoing protests.

A special New Year's themed version of Hong Kong's daily light show and some rooftop fireworks around Victoria Habour brought in 2020 instead.

22:07 December 31

HK marks start of 2020 with lightshow

SOUTH KOREA

Thousands of South Koreans filled cold downtown streets in Seoul ahead of a traditional bell-tolling ceremony near City Hall to send off an exhausting 2019 highlighted by political scandals, decaying job markets and crumbling diplomacy with North Korea.

Dignitaries picked to ring the old Bosingak bell at midnight included South Korean Major League Baseball pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu and Pengsoo, a giant penguin character with a gruff voice and blunt personality that emerged as one of the country’s biggest TV stars in 2019.

The annual tolling of the peace bell at Imjingak park near the border with North Korea was canceled due to quarantine measures following an outbreak of African swine fever.

21:51 December 31

Bell at Bosingak Bell Pavilion rings in 2020

NORTH KOREA

Huge crowds of North Koreans gathered in the capital to countdown to midnight to bring in the New Year with a firework display.

Footage from the celebrations was broadcast by state media from Pyongyang.

21:20 December 31

Fireworks in Pyongyang mark the New Year

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand's major cities greeted the new year with traditional fireworks.

In Auckland, half a ton of fireworks burst from the Sky Tower above the city centre.

New Zealanders saw off the old year without regret.

On March 15, a lone gunman identified killed 51 people and wounded dozens at two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch.

In December, an eruption of volcanic White Island off the east coast of the North Island killed at least 19 tourists and tour guides. 

The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was one of the first countries to welcome the new decade. The nation's 3,200 coral atolls are strewn more than 3 million square miles, straddling the equator.

As the new year begins, Kiribati finds itself on the front line of the battle against climate change, facing drought and rising sea levels.

19:31 December 31

Fireworks mark New Year in Sydney

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand's major cities greeted the new year with traditional fireworks.

In Auckland, half a ton of fireworks burst from the Sky Tower above the city centre.

New Zealanders saw off the old year without regret.

On March 15, a lone gunman identified killed 51 people and wounded dozens at two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch.

In December, an eruption of volcanic White Island off the east coast of the North Island killed at least 19 tourists and tour guides. 

The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was one of the first countries to welcome the new decade. The nation's 3,200 coral atolls are strewn more than 3 million square miles, straddling the equator.

As the new year begins, Kiribati finds itself on the front line of the battle against climate change, facing drought and rising sea levels.

19:15 December 31

New Zealand's major cities greet 2020 with traditional fireworks

Another 366 days to live and be happy and make this world a wonderful place for all species. Across the globe, the New Year celebrations have erupted in different hues and colours.

19:07 December 31

World welcomes new year 2020

Another 366 days to live and be happy and make this world a wonderful place for all species. Across the globe, the New Year celebrations have erupted in different hues and colours.