People around the world marked the start of 2026 with public gatherings, fireworks and traditional rituals from Asia to the Americas. The first New Year observances began in the South Pacific, and New York’s Times Square ball descended roughly 18 hours later as the final major U.S. celebration concluded. Photographers captured scenes from Taipei’s fireworks and Sydney Harbour to bell‑ringing ceremonies in Tokyo and crowd celebrations in Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Beirut and Moscow. This curated AP photo gallery highlights how cities, religious sites and public venues staged varied festivities amid local customs and public-safety measures.
Key Takeaways
- Timeline: The South Pacific greeted 2026 first, and the Times Square ball drop in New York came about 18 hours later, illustrating the global passage of the new year across time zones.
- Locations: Photographs document celebrations in at least nine major locales including Taipei (Jan. 1, 2026), Sydney (Jan. 1, 2026), Beijing (Jan. 1, 2026), Tokyo (Jan. 1, 2026) and Mumbai (Dec. 31, 2025).
- High-visibility displays: Taipei 101 and Sydney Harbour Bridge served as focal points for large fireworks displays captured on Jan. 1, 2026.
- Traditional rituals: Tokyo’s Zojoji temple bell‑ringing and bell‑striking ceremonies were photographed minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, 2026, demonstrating continuity of religious observance.
- Civic and political context: In Beijing, crowds watched a broadcast of Chinese President Xi Jinping during a New Year gathering on Dec. 31, 2025, as part of broader official programming.
- Public engagement: Images show dense crowds using smartphones to film confetti and balloon drops, signaling a blend of in-person attendance and personal media capture.
- Regional variety: Celebrations ranged from seaside sunsets in Beirut to a winter fair carousel on Moscow’s Red Square on Dec. 31, 2025.
Background
New Year’s celebrations are a global cultural fixture that follow local customs, civic planning and public-safety protocols. In many countries the arrival of a new year is marked by a mix of secular spectacles—fireworks, countdowns, landmark light shows—and religious or traditional observances such as bell‑ringing and temple rituals. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, large public events have been adjusted in some cities for crowd control and health guidance, though 2025–26 saw a renewed emphasis on in-person gatherings in many places.
Time zones shape a rolling sequence of celebrations: island nations in the South Pacific and Asia are among the earliest to enter a new year, while the Americas mark the change much later. For international media and photographers, that creates an extended window to document varied traditions. Governments and municipal authorities typically coordinate displays such as fireworks at Taipei 101 or Sydney Harbour Bridge with public-safety services and broadcast partners.
Main Event
Photographers documented fireworks erupting from Taipei 101 during New Year celebrations in Taipei on Jan. 1, 2026, where thousands gathered in public plazas near city government buildings. In Sydney, fireworks above the Harbour Bridge provided a landmark visual during Jan. 1 festivities that drew large, organized crowds and aerial displays. In Beijing, revelers celebrated at the Juyongguan Great Wall and in shopping malls, where confetti and balloon drops were filmed on smartphones early Jan. 1, 2026.
Tokyo’s Zojoji Buddhist temple hosted traditional bell‑striking ceremonies minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, 2026, including participants burning old resolutions—a ritual photographed shortly after the new year began. Hanoi launched fireworks above My Dinh National Stadium on Jan. 1, 2026, while in Mumbai and Hong Kong crowds gathered under illuminated decorations and public countdowns on Dec. 31, 2025. In Beirut, observers watched the last sunset of 2025 over the Mediterranean before heading into local New Year rituals.
Scenes in Moscow included a Christmas fair on Red Square with a chair carousel operating on Dec. 31, 2025. Across multiple cities, images captured both organized official programming—such as the broadcast of national leaders in state gatherings—and spontaneous public celebration, reflecting a mix of top-down and grassroots event dynamics.
Analysis & Implications
Photographs of global New Year’s events offer more than visual spectacle; they provide a lens into civic life, political signaling and social mood. Large-scale displays like fireworks and televised gatherings communicate municipal capacity to stage mass events and can be used to convey normalcy, national pride or cultural continuity. In Beijing, the combination of public entertainment and the broadcast of a national leader underscores how New Year programming can blend celebration with formal messaging.
Public safety and crowd management remain central to planners. Cities hosting pyrotechnic displays and dense street gatherings must coordinate police, emergency medical services and transport to reduce risks. The visual prevalence of smartphones in images points to how participants increasingly document and share events, which amplifies both celebratory messaging and the need for officials to manage real-time information flows during major public moments.
Economically, New Year events stimulate local tourism, hospitality and retail sectors; photographers’ images reinforce destination branding for cities like Sydney and Taipei. Conversely, the cost and logistics of large displays can draw scrutiny, especially where municipal budgets are constrained. Looking ahead, technology—drones, broadcast integrations and augmented-reality elements—may become more common at large public celebrations, changing both the spectacle and the regulatory environment.
Comparison & Data
| City | Local Date | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Taipei, Taiwan | Jan. 1, 2026 | Fireworks from Taipei 101 |
| Sydney, Australia | Jan. 1, 2026 | Fireworks over Harbour Bridge |
| Beijing, China | Jan. 1, 2026 | Great Wall performances; mall countdowns |
| Tokyo, Japan | Jan. 1, 2026 | Zojoji temple bell‑striking and resolution burning |
| Mumbai, India | Dec. 31, 2025 | Illuminated decorations and public selfies |
| Beirut, Lebanon | Dec. 31, 2025 | Last sunset of 2025 over the Mediterranean |
| Moscow, Russia | Dec. 31, 2025 | Red Square fair and carousel |
The table above summarizes visual highlights captured by AP photographers. While fireworks and countdowns dominate in many coastal and urban centers, traditional religious observances—such as bell‑ringing at temples—remain prominent in East Asian cities. These differences reflect local culture, religious calendars and municipal event priorities.
Reactions & Quotes
“This photo gallery has been curated to show the range of ways communities marked the start of 2026,”
AP Photo Editors
“From large-scale fireworks to quiet temple rituals, the images reflect both public celebration and longstanding tradition,”
AP (photo coverage)
Unconfirmed
- Exact crowd‑size figures for most events photographed have not been independently confirmed by municipal authorities or crowd-estimation experts.
- Details on any last‑minute security changes or permit adjustments for specific events were not provided in the photo captions and remain unverified.
Bottom Line
The AP photo gallery of New Year 2026 celebrations captures a global mosaic of practices—from televised state programming and landmark fireworks to religious bell‑ringing and intimate sunset vigils. The images document not only festive spectacle but also how cities balance tradition, public safety and media presentation during widely observed civic moments.
For readers, these photographs offer a visual record of how communities transition into a new year and a reminder that while the timing of midnight is fixed by time zone, the forms of celebration reflect local history, politics and culture. Expect future New Year events to continue blending large public shows with ritual observance and increasing integration of digital media and broadcast elements.
Sources
- AP Photo Gallery: New Year’s Eve 2026 celebration photos (photo gallery, AP News)