Photos of New Year’s celebrations across the globe

People across the world celebrate the start of 2026, with New York’s iconic Times Square ball descending 18 hours after the South Pacific greeted the new year.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

People pose for pictures near illuminated decorations on New Year's Eve in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) — People pose for pictures near illuminated decorations on New Year’s Eve in Mumbai, India, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Revelers ring in the new year at the Juyongguan Great Wall on the outskirts of Beijing, China, early Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Fireworks explode from the Taipei 101 building during the New Year's celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) — Fireworks explode from the Taipei 101 building during the New Year’s celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

People cheer during the 2026 Taipei New Year's Party celebration in front of the Taipei City Government Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) — People cheer during the 2026 Taipei New Year’s Party celebration in front of the Taipei City Government Building in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Fireworks burst over the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the New Year celebrations in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Revelers use their smartphones to film the falling balloons and confetti as they celebrate the start of 2026 during the New Year countdown event held at a shopping mall in Beijing, early Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

People gather underneath a large screen at a shopping mall showing CCTV broadcasting Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission as he speaks at the New Year gathering held by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) — People gather underneath a large screen at a shopping mall showing CCTV broadcasting Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission as he speaks at the New Year gathering held by the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Fireworks are launched above the My Dinh national stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam, January 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

People strike a giant bell to celebrate the New Year at the Zojoji Buddhist temple, minutes after midnight Thursday Jan. 1, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Performers ring in the new year at the Juyongguan Great Wall on the outskirts of Beijing, China, early Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

People gather before the New Year's countdown event in front of the Bosingak pavilion where the annual New Year's bell-ringing ceremony is held in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) — People gather before the New Year’s countdown event in front of the Bosingak pavilion where the annual New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony is held in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People attend the New Year countdown event to celebrate the start of 2026 in the Central district of Hong Kong, on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

People burn old resolutions on the New Year at the Zojoji Buddhist temple, minutes after midnight Thursday Jan. 1, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A man sits on a cliff as the last sunset of 2025 is seen over the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

People ride a chair carousel at the Christmas fair on the Red Square on New Year's Eve in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov) — People ride a chair carousel at the Christmas fair on the Red Square on New Year’s Eve in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

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