World welcomes 2024 with New Year's fireworks, reflection and a royal farewell
Monday, January 01, 2024, 09:46 GMT+7
The world welcomed 2024 with a mix of celebration and somber reflection.
Sydney sparkled under a shower of silver and gold fireworks commemorating the 50th anniversary of its iconic Opera House, while the mood in Gaza remained bleak, with residents more concerned with survival. In Europe, Denmark's Queen Margrethe II announced her abdication after over half a century on the throne.
Here's how places and people around the world bid farewell to 2023 and welcomed the New Year.
AUSTRALIA - Sydney hailed 2024 with a dazzling fireworks display featuring silver and gold pyrotechnics to mark the 50th anniversary of its famous Opera House.
DENMARK - Denmark's Queen Margrethe II used her annual New Year's speech on Sunday to announce that she will abdicate on January 14 after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik.
RUSSIA - Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing an election in March, made only passing reference in his New Year address on Sunday to Russia's attack on Ukraine, hailing his soldiers as heroes but mostly emphasising unity and shared determination.
CHINA - China President Xi Jinping, speaking on Sunday in a televised speech to mark the New Year, said the country will consolidate and enhance the positive trend of its economic recovery in 2024, and sustain long-term economic development with deeper reforms.
NORTH KOREA - North Korea vowed to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones and boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 as leader Kim Jong Un said U.S. policy is making war inevitable, state media reported on Sunday.
Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to further develop relationship of cooperation between the two countries in New Year messages exchanged on Monday, South Korea's Yonhap news reported, citing North Korea's state radio.
THE VATICAN - At his Sunday prayers, Pope Francis said: "I wish everyone a peaceful end of the year, and please do not forget to pray for me".
FRANCE - French President Emmanuel Macron in a televised address ahead of New Year celebrations said 2024 would be "the year of our French pride" marked by the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games and the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral after a devastating fire.
GERMANY - Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his traditional year-end address that 2023 held "so much suffering and bloodshed," but promised "we in Germany will get through this."
Police on Sunday detained three more suspects in an alleged Islamist plot to attack Germany's famed Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.
The alleged attackers had planned to use a car to attack the 800-year-old Gothic cathedral, Cologne police said.
BRITAIN - London ushered in the New Year with the bongs of Westminster tower's Big Ben bell, fireworks and a display of news highlights that featured King Charles' coronation.
UNITED STATES - In New York, tens of thousands of revelers are gathered in Manhattan's Times Square to wait for the lighted ball to drop at midnight, after scheduled performances by musicians including Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J.
|
|
| Fireworks explode over the Central Park during the New Year's Eve celebrations in Nairobi, Kenya, December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Fireworks explode over the Belgrade Waterfront project during the New Year celebrations in Belgrade, Serbia, January 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Fireworks light up the sky over Edinburgh Castle and the Balmoral Clock to mark the New Year, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain January 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| An image is projected onto the Arc de Triomphe to celebrate the entry into the Olympic year, during the New Year's celebrations on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, France, December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Fireworks illuminate Quadriga sculpture atop the Brandenburg Gate, during New Year's Eve celebrations in Berlin, Germany January 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Fireworks explode over the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill during New Year's Day celebrations, in Athens, Greece, January 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| People take part in the New Year's Eve celebrations in Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia January 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| A girl holds pigeons in front of the Bolshoi Theatre during the New Year's Eve celebrations in Moscow, Russia December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| People stroll at the main shopping and pedestrian street of Istiklal on New Year's eve in central Istanbul, Turkey December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| People celebrate New Year's Eve in Palu, Central Sulawesi province, Indonesia, January 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Children blow horns during New Year celebrations in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines, December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| People celebrate New Year's Eve at the Bundaran Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta, Indonesia, December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour to celebrate the New Year in Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Taiwan celebrates the arrival of 2024 with fireworks at Taipei 101 Tower in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Artists perform during the New Year's countdown event at the Shougang Park in Beijing, China December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| People attend a ceremony to celebrate the new year in Seoul, South Korea, December 31, 2023. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| Fireworks are seen over the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge during New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| People look at the first sunrise of the year on the beach in Miura, south of Tokyo, January 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters |
|
|
| People on a bridge look at the first sunrise of the year at a park in Seoul, South Korea, January 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters |
