Thousands have already gathered in Edinburgh to mark the city’s official Hogmanay celebrations.
19:03, 31 Dec 2025Updated 20:02, 31 Dec 2025
Fireworks in Sydney
Fireworks have lit the sky from Australia to Aberdeen as the world welcomes in the new year.
Those who come from the land Down Under showed us how it was done first, with spectacular displays across the country.
Sydney welcomed the New Year with a message of peace following the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as huge crowds gathered to watch the city’s annual fireworks display.
The words peace and unity were projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as thousands of heavily armed police officers patrolled the streets – a rare and stark sight in Australia – as part of heightened security measures.
Police in Sydney
Fabulous shows were also put on in Bali, Indonesia, and in Beijing, China, as 2026 arrived in style.
Back in Scotland, thousands have gathered in freezing temperature in Edinburgh to mark the city’s official Hogmanay celebrations.
People were left disappointed last year after the festival was cancelled – but forecasters were delighted to reveal that dry conditions were expected in the capital on New Year’s Eve this year.
As doors opened at 8pm for the street party in Princes Street, Market Street, Waverley Bridge and Castle Street, happy revellers flooded the streets.
Fireworks light up the sky to usher in the new year on January 1, 2026, in Singapore(Image: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
The first fireworks are being let off from the castle at 9pm, 10pm and 11pm before the main midnight moment above Edinburgh Castle.
Wet Leg are headlining the iconic Concert in the Gardens, supported by Scottish stars Hamish Hawk and Lucia & The Best Boys, with 2manydjs and Valtos bringing the beats at the legendary Street Party alongside a traditional Scottish stage.
Pernell family from California celebrate Hogmanay 2026 in Edinburgh, with New Year’s Eve street party(Image: SWNS)
The celebrations in the city are set to continue, as New Years Day welcomes First Footin’, the free, live music trail spanning the city’s Old and New Towns, as well as Muckle be the Light, a cultural recap with poet Michael Pederson, Garbage singer Shirley Manson and guest speaker, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
This year’s four-day event began on Monday with a torchlight procession, and will conclude today.
Revellers celebrate Hogmanay 2026 in Edinburgh, with New Year’s Eve street party(Image: swns)
The Pacific island of Kiribati was the first to welcome 2026, at 10am UK time.
Wellington celebrated 2026 one hour ahead of their noisy neighbours in Australia, where the Sydney Harbour Bridge was lit up by a white light to symbolise peace, and a Jewish menorah was projected on to the pylons of the bridge to show solidarity with the Jewish community.
The 2026 Beijing New Year Countdown celebration at the Juyongguan Great Wall on December 31, 2025 in Beijing, China(Image: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Official New Year’s Eve parties were paused at 11pm local time (12pm GMT) for a minute’s silence to commemorate the victims of the Bondi Beach attack.
Pictures from Sydney Harbour – where thousands gather every year to watch the famous fireworks display – showed officers patrolling the crowds with longarm weapons.
Australia brings in the bells in style (Image: Getty Images)