It’s officially New Year in a handful of places around the world. After Kiribati ushered in 2026, New Zealand followed soon after with Auckland lighting up the night sky as fireworks burst from the Sky Tower, marking one of the first major global celebrations to welcome the year.
Crowds gathered across downtown, umbrellas in hand, watching a bedazzling five-minute spectacle ripple across the harbour. As per AP reports, around 3,500 fireworks were fired from multiple levels of the tower, painting the rainy night in flashes of gold, purple and red.
New Zealand, along with several South Pacific nations, is among the earliest places on Earth to ring in the year, a full 18 hours before New York’s Times Square tradition unfolds.
