Auckland is the first major city to ring in 2024. Thousands cheer on fireworks sprouting from New Zealand's tallest structure, the Sky Tower, and a light show in the city center.
This year's New Year's Eve celebrations will be overshadowed by the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which have overshadowed celebrations and heightened tensions in parts of the world. Many cities are implementing additional safety measures and some places have canceled New Year's Eve events altogether.
In Auckland, light rain had eased across the city of 1.7 million throughout Sunday, as predicted, until midnight before the countdown began on an illuminated digital display near the top of the 328-meter (1,076-foot) communications and observation tower .
Two hours later, the Sydney Harbor Bridge in neighboring Australia becomes the focal point of a famous midnight fireworks display and light show that city authorities say is seen by around 425 million people worldwide annually.
More police officers than ever are on duty across Sydney to ensure security as more than a million people – equivalent to a fifth of the city's population – converge on the harborfront to enjoy the best views, state government authorities said in a statement .
Many night owls have been camping at the best viewing points since Sunday morning.
The waterfront was the scene of heated pro-Palestinian protests after the sails of the Sydney Opera House were lit in the colors of the Israeli flag in response to the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that sparked the war.
In New York's Times Square, officials and party organizers say they are ready to welcome crowds of revelers and ensure their safety.
At a security briefing on Friday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said there were “no specific threats” to the annual New Year's Eve party that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to the heart of Midtown Manhattan.
The celebrity-studded event includes live performances from Flo Rida, Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J, as well as television appearances from Cardi B and more. Organizers said on-site attendance is expected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels, although foot traffic around Times Square has declined slightly since the pandemic.
Amid near-daily protests in New York sparked by the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, police said they would expand the security perimeter around the party and create a “buffer zone” that would allow them to contain possible demonstrations to ward off.
“We’ll be out here with our dogs, on horseback, with our helicopters, with our boats,” Adams said. Officials would also monitor the protests with drones, he said. “But as we saw last year, we are getting a threat after there were no concrete threats.”
During last year's New Year's Eve party, a man with a machete attacked three police officers a few blocks from Times Square.
Security will also be increased throughout France on Sunday and 90,000 police officers will be deployed, said the head of the domestic secret service, Céline Berthon, on Friday.
Of those, 6,000 will be in Paris, where French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said over 1.5 million people are expected to attend the celebrations on the Champs-Élysées.
At a news conference, Darmanin referred to a “very high terrorist threat” due in part to “what is happening in Israel and Palestine,” referring to the war between Israel and Hamas.
Darmanin said that for the first time the police could use drones as part of security work and that tens of thousands of firefighters and 5,000 soldiers were also deployed.
New Year's Eve celebrations in the French capital will focus on the 2024 Paris Olympics, including DJ sets, fireworks and video projections at the Arc de Triomphe, highlighting “changes in the city and faces of the Games,” according to the press service of the city of Paris . Other events planned include “the largest Mexican wave ever” and a “giant karaoke.” Local authorities have imposed a ban on the sale of alcohol on and around the Champs-Élysées on New Year's Eve and the public will not be allowed to enter the area with glass bottles and flacons.
The security challenge ahead of the Olympics was highlighted when a tourist was killed in a knife attack near the Eiffel Tower on December 2nd. Major attacks – such as the one at Bataclan in 2015, when Islamic extremists broke into the music hall and shot, destroying café terraces and killing 130 people – are also of great importance.
In Russia, the country's military actions in Ukraine have overshadowed year-end celebrations, with the usual fireworks display and concert in Moscow's Red Square canceled like last year.
After shelling in the center of the Russian border town of Belgorod killed 24 people on Saturday, some local authorities across Russia also canceled their usual fireworks displays, including in Vladivostok. Millions of people across Russia are expected to watch Russian President Vladimir Putin's New Year's address.
In Muslim-majority Pakistan, the government has banned all New Year's Eve celebrations in solidarity with the Palestinians.
In a televised message overnight, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar urged Pakistanis to “show solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza” by starting the new year with simplicity.
Kakar said Muslims around the world were saddened by Israel's attacks on Gaza, which killed thousands of innocent people.