New Zealanders were the first in the world to mark the coming of 2024 with a fireworks display in Auckland on Monday. The fireworks illuminated the cloudy night sky and were accompanied by a laser light and animation show.
Here’s how different places and people around the world bid farewell to 2023 and welcome the New Year, 2024.
Sydney
Sydney celebrated 2024 with a sensational fireworks display featuring silver and gold pyrotechnics to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its famous Opera House.
Gaza
People in war-torn Gaza had hope that 2024 would get much relief after 12 weeks of Israel’s war to eliminate Hamas. In Rafah on Gaza’s border with Egypt, which has become the significant focal point for Palestinians running other parts of the enclave, people were more preoccupied on Sunday with trying to find shelter, food, and water than with thinking about the New Year.
Denmark
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II delivered her annual New Year speech as she announced on Sunday that she will abdicate after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik.
Vladimir Putin
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, facing an election in March, made only passing reference in his New Year speech on Sunday to his war in Ukraine, praising his soldiers as heroes but mostly underscoring unity and shared determination.
Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping, addressing on Sunday in a televised speech to celebrate the New Year, said the nation will consolidate and improve the positive trend of its economic recovery in 2024, and maintain long-term economic development with deeper reforms.
Kim Jong Un
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un pledged to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones, and boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 as leader Kim Jong Un said US policy is making war inevitable, state media reported on Sunday.
Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to further develop the relationship of cooperation between the two nations in New Year messages exchanged on Monday, South Korea’s Yonhap News reported, quoting North Korea’s state radio.
France
France’s President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised speech ahead of New Year celebrations that 2024 would be “the year of our French pride” marked by the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games and the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral after a horrific fire.
