New Year's Eve around the world

New Year's Eve coverage from Auckland to Anchorage and everywhere in between

Happy new year to the 1,400 residents of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, who are the first in the world to celebrate the start of 2013, along with Kiribati and Samoa.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:01:04 AM
Preparations for the final countdown are gearing up across the world. Increasingly democratic Burma will have a public countdown for the first time.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:08:46 AM
Jakarta plans a huge street party befitting Indonesia's powering economy.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:08:58 AM
The world has started celebrating the end of 2012

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:15:38 AM
Happy new year the Chatham Islands, 420 miles southeast of New Zealand!

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:20:17 AM
Workers set up a stage as preparations are underway for Burma's first ever public New Year's countdown celebration, at Myoma grounds in Yangon (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:24:06 AM
The stage is set for Burma's first ever New Year countdown at 5.30pm GMT (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:26:30 AM
One day after dancing in the snow to celebrate the first anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's ascension to supreme commander, North Koreans are now preparing to mark the arrival of the New Year, marked as 'Juche 102' on North Korean calendars - the number referring to 102 years since the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. 'Juche' means self-reliance, the North Korean ideology of independence promoted by Kim.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:28:54 AM
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said about 1.5 million spectators are expected to line the harbour to watch a 6.6 million Australian dollar fireworks display at 1pm GMT, while another two million Australians, among a population of 22 million, will watch it on television.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:31:02 AM
In the UK, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on the streets of Scotland's capital tonight for the world-famous Hogmanay celebrations.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:35:18 AM
Simple Minds will headline the Concert in the Gardens, where they will be joined by The View and Bwani Junction against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. The street party is expected to see 80,000 party-goers welcome in 2013, with performances from Mercury Prize nominees The Maccabees and Reverend and the Makers.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:35:54 AM
There will be five live stages and countdown fireworks at 9pm, 10pm and 11pm, with the midnight display from the ramparts of the castle.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:36:06 AM
Last minute checks have been made on the fuses to light Edinburgh's spectacular fireworks' display

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:37:19 AM
Around 7,000 torchbearers were led through Edinburgh last night by massed pipes and drums and the Up Helly Aa' Vikings from Shetland

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:38:49 AM
Celebrations got under way in Edinburgh last night with a torchlight procession. A record crowd estimated at 35,000 included 7,000 torch carriers.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:41:58 AM
We don't know what's going to happen, but we can always make things happen. Happy New Year, create a big bang!

by prince_cxr via twitter 12/31/2012 10:43:02 AM
In Scotland's capital, events will also take place on New Year's Day, including sled dog races at Holyrood Park and a triathlon which will see competitors swim 400 metres of the Royal Commonwealth Pool, cycle 11 miles around Arthur's Seat and then run 3.5 miles.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:47:50 AM
Last day of 2012 _#FeelingWeird

by Gulshan_786 via twitter 12/31/2012 10:48:30 AM
On the couch watching Hairspray with the dog. Best NYE ever.

by kasemc via twitter 12/31/2012 10:49:46 AM
A torchlit procession through Edinburgh kicked off Hogmanay celebrations last night

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:53:58 AM
Happy NY and Peace to all the cities and countries as your time turns to the year 2013. Politics Australia : http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ #NYE

by PoliticsinAust via twitter 12/31/2012 10:54:38 AM
Fireworks explode in the sky above Sydney Harbour during the pre New Years Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 10:56:04 AM
Is it only me that thinks nye is the most over rated night of the year??

by RebeccaxTaylor via twitter 12/31/2012 10:59:06 AM
A cuppa tea and Miss Marple. Probably the height of my NYE celebrations :)

by kitty_kelliher via twitter 12/31/2012 10:59:46 AM
Happy New Year New Zealand!

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:00:19 AM
Fireworks explode around the Opera House during the pre-New Years Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:01:22 AM
Our #view for the #Melbourne fireworks from All Nations Park in Northcote, nice and quiet.
#NYE #fireworks instagr.am/p/T5gZ0LIDQ-/

by herelivesamanda via twitter 12/31/2012 11:06:16 AM
Women pose for a photograph near lanterns with the words 'New Year's Day' at Qianmen Gate, a spot frequented by tourists in Beijing, China (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:13:14 AM
Nye, a night to pay to get into pubs when the other 364 days you don't need to and double taxi fairs!!! Rip off #2013

by IanPassey via twitter 12/31/2012 11:19:06 AM
In Hong Kong, which celebrates midnight at 4pm GMT, this year's 12.5 million Hong Kong dollar fireworks display is being billed by organisers as the biggest ever in the southern Chinese city. Police expect as many as 100,000 people to watch, local news reports said.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:20:18 AM
Fireworks light up the sky above Sydney Harbour, Australia, in the run-up to midnight (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:24:14 AM
A Filipino vendor sells grapes in downtown Manila, Philippines. Many Filipinos believe that having 12 round fruits of different kinds on the family table will bring good luck during the New Year (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:28:14 AM
celebrating the new year eve with my family, at home, without drinks...!!!! NOW GO, JUDGE ME!!!!

by Prasad.......... via twitter 12/31/2012 11:30:06 AM
Spending my new years eve at work and then church...

by ddewsr937 via twitter 12/31/2012 11:30:34 AM
Indian schoolgirls form numbers representing the year 2013 during a prayer ceremony in Ahmadabad, India. The gang-rape and subsequent death of a New Delhi student has set off an impassioned debate about what India needs to do to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. Floral writing at the centre reads 'Condolences to Damini', a symbolic name given to the victim. (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:36:42 AM
People have been camping out in Sydney all night, and the shores of the harbour were already packed when an eight-minute preliminary show for young children exploded three hours before the main event and as the clock struck midnight in Samoa and other South Pacific islands to the east, ushering in the New Year there.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:43:58 AM
Bring it on 2013! #NYE

by Stephanie Mazzone via twitter 12/31/2012 11:46:10 AM
Despite a somber mood in the Philippines due to devastation from a recent typhoon, a key problem for authorities on New Year's Eve remains how to prevent revellers from setting off huge illegal firecrackers - including some nicknamed 'Goodbye Philippines' and 'Bin Laden' - which maim and injure hundreds of Filipinos each year, including many children.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:47:46 AM
Fillipinos examine paper horns prior to New Year celebrations in Manila (AP)

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:49:22 AM
Who's excited for turn of the year?! I am #Happy #new #year :)

by Isa/Paula ;-) via twitter 12/31/2012 11:51:02 AM
Tomorrow will be the only time I think its acceptable to have a foul dirty hangover #NYE

by susielincoln95 via twitter 12/31/2012 11:52:38 AM
Great setting in #Dittisham but the weather's pretty grim here in #Devon for NYE! pbs.twimg.com/media/A_cP8s1CQAA9q_N.jpg

by Mark McQuillan via twitter 12/31/2012 11:53:11 AM
Hong Kong feng shui master Raymond Lo has predicted 2013 will be less turbulent than 2012 because the Chinese New Year in February will usher in the year of the snake, bringing an end to the year of the dragon, which was associated with water. Water is one of the five elements in feng shui theory, the Chinese practice of arranging objects and choosing dates to improve luck.

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:54:38 AM
"Water is fear. So that's why we have had so much turbulence especially in the winter months," said Lo. "But the good news is that the coming year of the snake is the first time that fire has come back since 2007. Fire actually is the opposite to water, fire is happiness. So therefore the year of the snake is a much more optimistic year. So you can see signs of economic recovery now."

by Jo Foster, Press Association 12/31/2012 11:55:22 AM
Buzzing for tonight!! #nye

by guisey19 via twitter 12/31/2012 11:59:26 AM