From New Zealand to Hong Kong: World welcomes 2023 with fireworks and light shows

People across the world turned a new chapter of their lives as they bid farewell to the year 2022 and welcomed a new year on Sunday (January 1) with celebrations in different parts including Auckland, Sydney, Hong Kong, and others.

With aspirations and expectations, the world's eight billion people look forward to the year 2023. They said goodbye to the chaotic 12 months, which were marred by several crises, including the Ukraine war, and other conflicts.

2022 was bittersweet and will be remembered for a lot of reasons like the Russia-Ukraine war, the cost of living crisis, the Covid pandemic etc. The past year will also be remembered for the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict. There were some happy moments as well, such asArgentina's World Cup win.

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New year celebrations started in New Zealand as people marked the arrival of 2023 with a fireworks display in Auckland. The fireworks show from Auckland's 328-metre-tall Sky Tower returned after last year's cancellation due to concerns over the coronavirus Omicron variant.

Mesmerising images showed people celebrating in Australia as Sydney ushered in the new year with a typically dazzling fireworks display which for the first time featured a rainbow waterfall off the iconic Harbour Bridge.

Despite the coronavirus scare in the country, people in China welcomed the new year. Reports mentioned that tens of thousands of revellers celebrated the start of the new year in central Wuhan with a heavy security presence in the city.

News agencies reported that people in the centre of Moscow marked a somewhat muted new year's eve without the usual fireworks and celebrations on Red Square.

Hong Kong welcomed the New Year with a multimedia light show over Victoria Harbour.

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the country welcomed the New Year after witnessingtumultuouspolitical and economic2022, with fireworks and light shows with drones. At least 12,000 fireworks lit up the sky at midnight as the dronesspelt out the message "2023 with love from London".

According to reports, more than100,000 people gathered on the banks of the Thames in London to mark the beginning of 2023 with thetheme of "love and unity".The drones were also used to paytribute to the late monarch, Queen Elizabeth II who passed away, last year, in September.

In Ukraine, with no end in sight to the Russian invasion of the country which began in February 2022. Reportedly, Moscow,on Saturday, New Year's evefired a barrage of cruise missiles and sirens wailed across the country on New Year's Day. However, people gathered near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv'scentral Christmas tree as midnight approached, said media reports.

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