In Pictures: People cheer as fireworks and drummers mark the start of a new year

Drummers ring in the new year at the Great Wall on the outskirts of Beijing, China (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Drummers pounded in the new year and a stampede of computer-generated horses was shown over a section of the Great Wall as China joined the rest of the world in marking the start of 2026.

Temple bells rang across Japan, and some climbed mountains to see the year’s first sunrise.

Drummers ring in the new year on the outskirts of Beijing, China (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Revellers film and catch falling balloons as they celebrate the start of 2026 in Beijing (Andy Wong/AP)

People attended a new year countdown event to celebrate the start of 2026 in Hong Kong (Chan Long Hei/AP)

People burn old resolutions at the Zojoji Buddhist temple, minutes after midnight, in Tokyo (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

People strike a giant bell to celebrate the new year at the a Buddhist temple in Tokyo (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

A couple take a selfie as the last sunset of 2025 is seen over the Mediterranean Sea in Lebanon (Hassan Ammar/AP)

Sydney saluted the new year with joy and defiance, as the famous Harbour Bridge crackled with fireworks less than three weeks after Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost 30 years.

South Pacific countries were the first to bid farewell to 2025.

New Zealand’s capital, Auckland, held a fireworks display 18 hours before the ball drop in New York’s Times Square.

Fireworks burst over the Sydney Harbour Bridge during celebrations in Australia (Rick Rycroft/AP)

A colourful sign is projected onto Sydney Harbour Bridge (Rick Rycroft/AP)

Fireworks explode from the Taipei 101 building during the celebrations in Taiwan (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

People cheer during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

Fireworks explode over a river during celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

People celebrate New Year’s Eve in Mumbai, India (Rafiq Maqbool?AP)

Pope Leo waves after a moment of prayer on New Year’s Eve in front of the nativity scene that adorns St Peter’s Square at the Vatican (Andrew Medichini/AP)