In photos: New Year's Eve around the world with pandemic controlling muting celebrations
While freshes wave of coronavirus have sparked renewed lockdowns, the world began ushering in the New Year with pandemic controlling muting celebrations. Here are the memorable photos of billions of people eager to bid farewell to 2020 over the world.
![]() |
| Masked pedestrians pass a celebrating couple in Melbourne, Australia Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| A sign outside Flinders Street station in Melbourne, Australia Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images |
![]() |
| A composite image compares the crowd size at Sydney’s Circular Quay on New Year’s Eve 2019 (top) and today Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/Dean Lewins/EPA FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| The Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon is lit with a Covid-19 safety message ahead of the midnight fireworks Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Police patrol at Sydney Opera House during New Year’s Eve celebrations. This years fireworks display has been shortened to seven minutes, with numerous other restrictions in place Photograph: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Fireworks from the SkyTower during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Auckland, New Zealand Photograph: Dave Rowland/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Craftsmen perform a molten iron fireworks display in Zaozhuang, China Photograph: VCG/Getty Images |
![]() |
| A couple take a selfie in Hong Kong Photograph: Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Fireworks explode in Baghdad, Iraq Photograph: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters |
![]() |
| People watch a flag-raising ceremony and fireworks display in Pyongyang, North Korea Photograph: Jon Chol Jin/AP |
![]() |
| Young people celebrate in front of a 2021 tree at Namsan mountain in Seoul, South Korea Photograph: Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA |
![]() |
| Guests stand at hotel room windows in Jakarta, Indonesia Photograph: Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Crowds gather to celebrate the arrival of the new year in Wuhan, China Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters |
![]() |
| Fireworks and light effects illuminate the night sky around the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan Photograph: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA |
![]() |
| Fireworks erupt over the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, Thailand Photograph: Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Crowds celebrate around a Christmas tree in Kiev, Ukraine Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP |
![]() |
| People celebrate after counting down to the new year in a bar in Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Fireworks illuminate the night sky in Kenya, Nairobi Photograph: Dennis Sigwe/Rex/Shutterstock FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| The Ras al Khaimah celebrations in the UAE’s northernmost emirate Photograph: Handout |
![]() |
| A light show illuminates Konak square in Izmir, Turkey, during a curfew Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images |
![]() |
| Revellers celebrate in the Scheveningen, in the Netherlands where fireworks were banned Photograph: Remco Koers/EPA |
![]() |
| Fireworks explode over the Acropolis in Athens, Greece Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Fireworks explode behind the Kremlin’s Spasskaya tower in Moscow, Russia Photograph: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Mounted police officers patrol the Victoria Embankment opposite the London Eye Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Confetti showers a quiet Times Square in New York Photograph: Corey Sipkin/AFP/Getty Images FacebookTwitterPinterest |
![]() |
| Jennifer Lopez performs in Times Square for a recording of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Photograph: Jeff Neira/ABC/Shutterstock |
![]() |
| A tourist from Guatemala wears festive glasses in Mexico City Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP |
| Watch New Year fireworks from up close with video In Hanoi, HCMC and other localities, citizens swarmed to downtown locations in great numbers to enjoy outdoor concerts and the pinnacle firework displays to ring ... |
| In photos and video: Thousands of Vietnamese swarming to streets for New Year 2021 welcoming Thousands of people flocked to the downtowns of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Quang Ninh, etc to enjoy outdoor art performances and fireworks ... |
| Overseas Vietnamese in Laos hold prayers for new year 2021 Vietnamese expatriates in Laos joined together in Phat Tich pagoda in Vientiane on December 31 to pray for peace and happiness in the upcoming New ... |
Recommended
World
India’s Neighbors Turn to New Delhi to Help Ease Fuel Shortages
India’s neighbors are seeking additional fuel from New Delhi as the war in the Middle East curtails access to energy supplies from the Persian Gulf, giving Asia’s third-largest economy an opportunity to build goodwill across the region.
March 16, 2026 | 07:00
World
Promoting Vietnam’s Image at the Bulgarian Rose Festival
On March 11, 2026, Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet paid a working visit to Kazanlak and held talks with Mayor Galina Stoyanova to promote local-level cooperation between the city of Kazanlak and Lai Chau province, while also discussing plans to promote Vietnam’s image at the 2026 Rose Festival.
March 13, 2026 | 15:55
World
Indonesia has entered agreement with India to procure BrahMos missiles
Indonesia has entered an agreement with India to procure the BrahMos missile system, its defence ministry spokesperson Rico Ricardo Sirait told Reuters on Monday (Mar 9).
March 11, 2026 | 10:50
World
India wins praise after third T20 World Cup crown
The cricketing world hailed white‑ball powerhouse India as they etched their name deeper into history with a third men’s Twenty20 World Cup title on Sunday, defeating New Zealand by 96 runs in Ahmedabad.
March 10, 2026 | 13:59
World
UN and Many Countries Warn of Escalating Conflict Risk in Middle East
In response to coordinated airstrikes by Israel and the United States against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory actions, the United Nations and numerous countries and international organizations have simultaneously called for restraint, warning of a serious escalation risk to regional peace and security.
March 02, 2026 | 16:40
World
Seminar Marking 50th Anniversary of Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia
On February 25, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York (United States), on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the ASEAN Committee in New York organized a symposium under the theme: “The Contribution of the TAC as a Regional Framework under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter.” The Vietnamese delegation, led by Ambassador Do Hung Viet, Head of the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the United Nations, attended the event.
February 28, 2026 | 08:14
World
India has strengthened its position after the AI Impact Summit in Delhi
India has strengthened its position after the AI Impact Summit in Delhi, where 89 countries and international organisations signed a declaration supporting India’s AI vision.
February 26, 2026 | 07:00
World
High-Level Segment of 61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council Opens in Geneva
On February 23, at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, the High-Level Segment of the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) was officially opened. The event has drawn significant attention from the international community and member state delegations at a time when the global human rights system is facing profound challenges.
February 24, 2026 | 14:31


























