Tight security around the globe during New Year's celebrations
Cities in the Pacific island nations of Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati were among the first to bid farewell to 2016, before fireworks were launched from the top of Auckland’s Sky Tower.
Two pyrotechnic shows followed at Sydney Harbour and doused Australia’s iconic bridge in the bright light of an estimated seven tonnes of fireworks.
The city’s display also saw Sydney Harbour Bridge turned purple in a tribute to Prince, while David Bowie was honoured with space-themed visuals in a nod to the late star’s hit, ‘Space Oddity’.
Thousands gathered in cities and towns across Ireland, with the largest celebrations in Dublin. More than 5,000 attended the New Year Festival in Dublin.
Meanwhile, red starbursts exploded above the Kremlin for the Russian occasion, which marks the country’s major gift-giving holiday.
In Europe, fireworks in Helsinki also signified the beginning of the centenary year of Finnish independence.
There was a huge police presence on the streets of London as spectators from nearly 100 countries flocked to the Thames to watch the night sky light up as Big Ben struck midnight.
With memories of the lethal Berlin lorry truck attack still fresh, London mayor Sadiq Khan assured crowds the capital was “as safe as it possibly can be”.
After the event passed successfully, he haled it as demonstrating to the world that London “is open to all”.
In Scotland, Hogmanay celebrations attracted a crowd of up to 80,000 people to Edinburgh for the sold-out event, described as the UK’s largest outdoor winter festival.
Millions of merrymakers witnessed the descent of the kaleidoscopic New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square, celebrating a century-old New York tradition under an unprecedented umbrella of security.
As many as two million people, surrounded by a ring of 40-ton sand trucks and some 7,000 police, gathered in the ‘Crossroads of the World’ to watch the glittering sphere complete its minute-long drop, marking the beginning of 2017.
With the throng counting down the seconds, the crystal-paned ball slid with smooth precision down its pole, mounted on a tower at the head of the plaza. At the stroke of midnight, it touched home, illuminating a giant ‘2017’ sign and sending a shower of fireworks into the sky.
The sights and sounds were experienced by a veritable sea of humanity, sectioned off in block after block of temporary corrals set up to better control the crowd. Millions of others around the world watched the spectacle on television and the internet.
Despite the heavy police presence, or perhaps because of it, thousands of people, many from overseas, arrived early to be dazzled by the flashing signage and entertained by live musical performances by Mariah Carey, Thomas Rhett and Gloria Estefan.
“It’s a very special place, to be in the centre of everything tonight,” said Marta Loygorra, 20, who came to Times Square from Madrid, Spain, with her father, Jose Loygorra, 54.
“I’ve always wanted to be here for this and it’s great to be here with my Dad,” she said, cuddling up to him for warmth.
Jess Smith, 22, of Perth, Australia, said that when she booked her New York hotel, she didn’t realise it was just a few blocks north of Times Square.
“It’s crazy. It’s crazy good luck,” she said with a grin.
But for one woman, the biggest night of the year was something of a nightmare.
Pop diva Mariah Carey has attempted to shrug off a disastrous New Year’s Eve performance after suffering mishaps in front of millions of fans.
The 46-year-old took to the stage in New York in one of the biggest events planned to ring in 2017.
But the ‘Hero’ singer appeared to have technical difficulties during the set, broadcast live from Times Square.
At the end of her performance she abruptly walked off stage and signed off with: “It just don’t get any better.”
She had told the crowd: “I’m trying to be a good sport here.”
Carey stopped singing her song ‘Emotions’, paced the stage and told the audience to finish the lyrics for her.
“We can’t hear. We didn’t have a check for this song... we’re missing some of these vocals, but it is what it is,” she said.
Then, appearing to give up attempting to lip sync, she said: “I’m going to say let the audience sing, okay?”
She added: “I wanted a holiday too, can I not have one?”
A representative for the singer confirmed there were technical difficulties during Saturday night’s performance, but viewers were unimpressed.
William Vercetti tweeted: “2016 took another casualty literally 10 mins before the ball drops. RIP Mariah Carey.”
Jessica Baum wrote: “Shout out to Mariah Carey’s backup dancers for still dancing/keeping a straight face while all our jaws were on the floor.”
Chanda Powell Fowler wrote: “I’m choosing to believe Mariah Carey’s performance was an artistic reinterpretation of the 2016 presidential election.”
Carey, who recently split from her billionaire fiance James Packer, attempted to shrug off the problems with a post on Twitter, with ‘sad face’ and ‘crying with laugher’ emojis.
“Shit happens. Have a happy and healthy new year everybody! Here’s to making more headlines in 2017,” she wrote.
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