World rings in 2024 with more security than normal
Robert Miller Sydney and Auckland were among the world's first major cities to ring in 2024, with revellers cheering spectacular fireworks displays that lit up the skies over Sydney Harbour and New Zealand's Sky Tower.
As the clock struck midnight in Australia, tons of explosives erupted in a 12-minute display that focused on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
More than a million people — a number equivalent to one in five of the city's residents — watched from the shore and from boats.
"It's total madness," said German tourist Janna Thomas, who had waited in line since early in the morning to secure a prime waterfront location in the Sydney Botanic Garden. "It's not so easy to find a good place to sit, but the view is incredible."
The ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and heightened tensions in parts of the world, are affecting this year's New Year's Eve celebrations in a myriad of ways.
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Many cities were deploying extra security, and some places cancelled New Year's Eve events altogether.
More police than ever were deployed throughout Sydney.
The waterfront has been the scene of heated pro-Palestinian protests after the sails of the Sydney Opera House were illuminated in the colours of the Israeli flag in response to the October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas that triggered the war.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis recalled 2023 as a year marked by wartime suffering.
Pope Francis. (Source: Associated Press)
During his traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St Peter's Square, he offered prayers for "the tormented Ukrainian people and the Palestinian and Israeli populations, the Sudanese people and many others".
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"At the end of the year, we will have the courage to ask ourselves how many human lives have been shattered by armed conflict, how many dead and how much destruction, how much suffering, how much poverty," the pontiff said.
"Whoever has interest in these conflicts, listen to the voice of conscience."
In Japan, temple bells rang out across the nation as people gathered at shrines and temples to welcome in the new year.
At the Tsukiji Temple in Tokyo, visitors were given free hot milk and corn soup as they stood in line to strike a big bell, and a pipe-organ concert was held before a majestic altar.
In New York City, officials and party organisers said they were prepared to ensure the safety of tens of thousands of revellers expected to flood Times Square in the heart of midtown Manhattan.
Revellers cheer before a countdown to the new year in Beijing. (Source: Associated Press)
Mayor Eric Adams said there were "no specific threats" to the annual New Year's Eve bash, which was set to feature live performances from Flo Rida, Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J, as well as televised appearances from Cardi B and others.
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Organisers said in-person attendance was expected to return to pre-Covid levels, even as foot traffic around Times Square remains down slightly since the pandemic.
Amid near-daily protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, New York City police said they would expand the security perimeter around the party, creating a "buffer zone" that would allow them to head off potential demonstrations.
Officials also planned to monitor any protests with drones, the mayor said.
"We will be out here with our canines, on horseback, our helicopters, our boats," Adams said. "But as we saw last year, after having no specific threats, we get a threat."
During last year's New Year’s Eve party, a machete-wielding man attacked three police officers a few blocks from Times Square.
Security also will also be heightened across European cities.
People buy decorated headgear as they celebrate New Year's eve at a promenade in Mumbai, India. (Source: Associated Press)
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In France, 90,000 law enforcement officers were set to be deployed, domestic intelligence chief Céline Berthon said.
Of those, 6000 will be in Paris, where French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said over 1.5 million people are expected to attend celebrations on the Champs-Elysees.
Darmanin cited a "very high terrorist threat" partly because of the Israel-Hamas war. Police for the first time will be able to use drones as part of security work, he said, and tens of thousands of firefighters and 5000 soldiers would also be deployed.
In Berlin, some 4500 police officers are expected to keep order and avoid riots like a year ago. Police in the German capital issued a ban on the traditional use of fire crackers for several streets across the city.
Swimmers during the traditional Sylvester December 31 swim at lake Moossee in Moosseedorf, Switzerland. (Source: Associated Press)
They also banned a pro-Palestinian protest in the Neukoelln neighbourhood of the city, which has seen several pro-Palestinian riots since the October 7 attack by Hamas.
In Russia, the country's military actions in Ukraine have overshadowed end-of-year celebrations, with the usual fireworks and concert on Moscow's Red Square cancelled, as last year.
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In Muslim-majority Pakistan, the government has banned all New Year's Eve celebrations as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians.
