Skies a blast of colour as world welcomes 2012

EXTRAVAGANT firework displays lit up the skies from Sydney to New York in a global New Year’s party as people around the world set aside their worries to welcome 2012.

Turning the page on a year of financial turmoil in Europe and the United States, uprisings across the Arab world, devastation in Japan, and the dramatic killing of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in his Pakistani hideout, revellers danced to pop stars, drank champagne, and cheered out the final seconds of 2011.

In New York, pop diva Lady Gaga and Mayor Michael Bloomberg hit the switch sending the city’s famous crystal ball on its countdown drop. Confetti poured out over Times Square, where up to a million people had been expected, and multi-coloured, star-burst fireworks erupted over Manhattan’s skyscrapers.