World unites in hope for 2013
In Australia, the self-styled New Year’s Eve party capital, who was better to get the party started than Kylie Minogue.
The pop starlet says Sydney’s celebration to welcome in 2013 was a highlight of her life and proved the city’s reputation as the New Year’s Eve capital of the world.
An estimated 1.6m people viewed the fireworks around the harbour in a show that paid homage to the diminutive singer.
Her red lips in lights on the Sydney Harbour Bridge puckered up at midnight to deliver a kiss to welcome in the new year.
“The atmosphere was electric and it was a night I will never forget. Sydney has the reputation as the New Year’s Eve capital of the world and it certainly lived up to that promise last night,” said Kylie.
“My new-year resolution is to spend more time with my family and loved ones, and more time in Australia.”
In London, clean-up crews spruced up the city as the English capital nursed its new-year hangover ahead of more celebrations.
Thousands of people gathered in the city centre to see out 2012 by remembering some of the best moments from one of its most memorable years in recent history.
About 200 clean-up staff took just under six hours to clear roughly 160 tonnes of rubbish in Westminster to get the streets ready for yesterday’s New Year’s Day parade.
About 250,000 spectators were estimated to have watched the colourful and noisy pyrotechnics display, which featured 12,500 fireworks.
London mayor Boris Johnson said: “What an amazing end to an incredible year.
“Watched by hundreds of thousands in the capital and millions around the globe, London has proved, yet again, that it can pull off spectacular world-class events in style.”
During the New Year’s Day parade, a procession of Olympic Games volunteers, drummers, stilt walkers, and Bolivian dancers greet 2013 snaked their way through central London. Organisers said more than 500,000 people had enjoyed the fair weather as floats, cheerleaders and brass bands marched through the capital.
A million people cheered in Times Square as the traditional crystal ball dropped to mark the start of 2013.
The Big Apple extravaganza was crowned when mayor Michael Bloomberg, aided by a bevy of Rockettes dancers, sent the huge, glittering ball down at one minute to midnight, sparking kissing and dancing.
“It’s something you need to do in your life. It’s New York and New Year’s Eve,” said Juli, 18, from Austria.
Scotland’s “loony dookers” started 2013 with a splash as 1,100 bathers took to the water to welcome in the new year.
The annual Jan 1 dip in the Forth at South Queensferry saw brave participants take the plunge in costumes ranging from penguins to hula dancers.
Many took the opportunity to wash away their Hogmanay hangover after the party in Edinburgh the night before.
Organisers of the world-famous celebration were, meanwhile, hard at work with the big clear-up, with council staff removing 60 to 75 tonnes of rubbish by around mid-morning.
About 75,000 party goers counted down the last 10 seconds of 2012 before joining in a mass rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ after the clock struck midnight.
The world-famous event saw Scottish rock band Simple Minds headline the Concert in the Gardens.
Partygoers from across the world visited the city to join in the events, which also included a céilí with 3,000 people dancing as the bells chimed.
Meanwhile, in Russia, spectators filled Moscow’s iconic Red Square as fireworks exploded near the Kremlin.
President Vladimir Putin used a traditional new year’s address to call for unity following a year of protests against his return to the Kremlin for a third term.
In Rio de Janeiro, revellers dressed head-to-toe in white as dictated by Brazilian new years’ tradition flooded onto Copacabana beach for a concert.
There was little prospect of such fanfare in Venezuela, though, as President Hugo Chávez’s declining health cast a shadow over the start of 2013 and prompted cancellation of major celebrations.
In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated New Year’s Eve vespers in St Peter’s Basilica, voicing solidarity with the poor and calling on believers to pause to reflect from time to time despite busy lives.
“We have to know how to stop and think. This way our soul can find healing for the inevitable wounds of everyday life,” said the pontiff.
In Madrid, revellers who gathered in Puerta del Sol square ahead of midnight — cowed by cold, rain and recession — sought to numb the pain of economic crisis with a glass of wine and plenty of cheer.
Manuela Ibanez, 51, who came from Barcelona with her two daughters, said: “At times like this, we forget the crisis.”
In Paris, there was less cheer as authorities issued a reminder that all fireworks were officially banned for the night.
Earlier in Asia, in regions devastated by Typhoon Bopha which hit the southern Philippines in early December killing more than 1,000 people, many survivors said food, work and permanent shelter topped their priorities.
In South Korea, Seoul ushered in 2013 with a ritual ringing of the city’s 15th-century bronze bell 33 times, reflecting the ancient practice of marking a new year.
Millions visited temples and shrines in Japan for “ninen-mairi” two-year prayers, gathering at family homes to feast on soba noodles and watch the new-year variety show Kohaku Uta Gassen or the Red and White Song Contest.
Fireworks also went up in cities across China. And in Taiwan, hundreds of thousands defied chilly winds to pack the square in front of the Taipei City Hall for a concert.
One day after dancing in the snow to celebrate the first anniversary of leader Kim Jong-un’s ascension to supreme commander, North Koreans marked the arrival of the new year, marked as “Juche 102” on North Korean calendars.
Juche means self-reliance, the North Korean ideology of independence promoted by national founder Kim Il Sung, who was born 102 years ago. His grandson now rules North Korea.
In a field in Burma’s largest city, Rangoon, about 72,000 people gathered two hours ahead of midnight for the first public new-year countdown in the country.
Hundreds of people danced and swayed to musical performances on a huge colourfully lit stage, while other revellers — both young and old — sat on mats they brought with them or perused food stalls as fireworks burst above.
“This is very exciting and also our first experience in celebrating the new year at a big countdown gathering. We feel like we are in a different world,” said Yu Thawda, a university student who came with three of her friends.
Burma’s president made his first new year’s address to the nation in what he called a new campaign to communicate directly with the people.
President Thein Sein reflected on the country’s much-touted progress last year and the challenges ahead in a five-minute radio broadcast.
In a show of humility that was not displayed by the former junta, Thein Sein acknowledged that he needed to do more to earn the people’s trust and will make a point to speak to the people more often.
He vowed “to start a new direct communication link, which is a necessity for our society”.
In Hong Kong, tens of thousands of people lined the Victoria Harbour to view the massive fireworks display, said to be the biggest ever in the southern Chinese city.
Feng shui master Raymond Lo predicted 2013 would be less turbulent than 2012 because the Chinese New Year in February would usher in the year of the snake, bringing an end to the year of the dragon, which was associated with water.
Water is one of the five elements in feng shui theory, the Chinese practice of arranging objects and choosing dates to improve luck.
“Water is fear. So that’s why we have had so much turbulence especially in the winter months,” such as doomsday prophecies, school shootings and concerns about the fiscal cliff, said Lo.
“But the good news is that the coming year of the snake is the first time that fire has come back since 2007.
“Fire actually is the opposite to water, fire is happiness. So therefore the year of the snake is a much more optimistic year. So you can see signs of economic recovery now.”
Masked and armed thieves used the New Year’s Eve celebrations to rob the flagship Apple store in Paris.
The French press reported that goods worth up to €1m were stolen from the shop behind the Paris Opera House which sells products such as Apple’s iPhones and iPads.
Police would not immediately confirm the figure.
Police said the theft happened at about 9pm local time, three hours after closing, while officers were deployed around the famed Champs-Elysees Avenue where revellers traditionally gather on New Year’s Eve.
The daily Le Parisien reported that the thieves entered the store by threatening a security guard at a back entrance.
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