Photos: New Year's celebrations from NYC to Sydney, as world welcomes 2026

Millions of Americans across the U.S. joined people around the world in New Year's celebrations ringing in 2026 on Thursday.The big picture: South Pacific countries were the first to farewell 2025 and welcome New Year's Day — 18 hours ahead of the iconic Times Square ball drop in New York City. Fireworks explode over the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 1. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images The scene at downtown Miami, Florida, across Biscayne Bay from a bridge connecting Miami and Miami Beach ahead of Miami-Dade County's New Year's celebrations on Jan. 1. Photo: Jesus Olarte/Anadolu via Getty Images Partygoers celebrate ringing in New Year's Day at the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 1. Photo: Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images Fireworks light up the sky behind the Ferry Building and over the Bay Bridge during rainy New Year's celebrations in San Francisco, California, United States on Jan. 1. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images People watch the New Year's fireworks in in Baltimore, Maryland, on Jan. 1. Photo: Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty Images The traditional New Year's fireworks at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Jan. 1. Rio received the title of the world's largest New Year's Eve celebration from the Guinness World Records two days earlier. Photo: Tercio Teixeira/AFP via Getty Images A  dance troop member dressed in a masquerade costume dances in front of a crowd during the Sierra Leone New Year's Cultural Festival in Kabala on Jan. 1. Photo: Gemma Bonfiglioli/AFP via Getty Images The 2026 Beijing New Year Countdown celebration at China's Juyongguan Great Wall on Jan. 1, 2026 in Beijing, China. Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images New Year's celebrations in Sebokeng township, south of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Jan. 1. The tradition of setting a tire alight and spinning it in the air began during the apartheid era, when Black communities found creative ways to celebrate despite limited resources. Today, the fiery display remains a lively and symbolic expression of community spirit, resilience and the joy of starting a new year together. Photo: Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images Fireworks celebrating the New Year in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, on Jan. 1. Photo: Erkin Keci/Anadolu via Getty Images People gather to celebrate New Year's Eve at the Jogyesa buddhist temple on Dec. 31 in Seoul, South Korea. Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images Pyrotechnics, drones and music are the central elements of the show to welcome the year 2026 in Barcelona, Spain, on Jan. 1. Photo: Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images New Year's Eve celebrations on Dec. 31 next to Red Square, in Moscow, Russia, which is closed to visitors through 10am on Jan. 1 local time. Photo: Contributor/Getty Images The New Year's Eve Fireworks Show marking the end of 2025 and the start of 2026 is launched in London, England. Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images New Year's fireworks near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on Dec. 31. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images Fireworks celebrations over Egypt's ancient pyramids at night in Giza on Jan. 1. Photo: Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images Thousands attend firework celebrations in Zakho, Iraq, on Jan. 1. Photo: Rawan Subhi Obaiullah/Anadolu via Getty Images Lasers light up the sky over the Brandenburg Gate during a New Year's Eve party in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 31. Photo: Britta Pedersen/DPA/Picture All Pedersen/DPA/Picture Alliance via Getty Images Children light up sparklers during New Year 's celebrations in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 1, 2026. Photo: Jam Sta Rosa/AFP via Getty Images Fireworks explode next to the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis during New Year celebrations in Athens, Greece, on Jan. 1. Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images A fireworks display during New Year celebrations in Lusail, Qatar, early on Jan. 1. Photo: Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images A spinners' gathering at an arena for New Year's Eve celebrations in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on Dec. 31. Photo: Zinyange Auntony/AFP via Getty Images Revelers watch fireworks during the New Year's celebrations in Karachi, Pakistan, on Jan. 1. Photo: Rizwan Tabassum/AFP via Getty Images New Year's fireworks near the The Huc Bridge at Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Jan. 1. Photo: Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images Fireworks light up the sky over Australia's Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House during New Year's celebrations on Jan. 1. Photo: Izhar Khan/Getty Images Auckland, New Zealand, becomes the first major city to welcome Jan. 1, 2026. Photo: Rebecca Falconer/AxiosFlashback: New Year's celebrations in U.S. and around the world in 2025Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more photos as they come in.