2023: Cities around the world bring in the New Year
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New Year celebrations are in full swing as the UK and countries around the world welcome 2023.
In the UK, thousands attended Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh as people gathered on London’s South Bank for a huge firework display over the River Thames.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan teased onlookers earlier as he told Sky News there were “at least three massive surprises” at the iconic fireworks display.
He also said the fireworks reflected the past year, capturing the happiness and losses seen.
For many, this is the first New Year’s Eve in three years where parties and festivities are completely free of Covid restrictions.
The United Arab Emirates attempted to break two Guinness World Records during its celebrations with 452 pyrotechnic drones and 15,000 nano lights, colors and shapes at its fireworks display in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, crowds released balloons in Tokyo, Japan, on the first strikes of the new year, as people in Seoul prayed and lit up the sky with their phones as they said goodbye to a painful year.
Thousands of people also gathered in cities across China, despite rising Covid infections.
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Jubilant crowds welcomed the new year with the biggest celebrations the UK has seen since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thousands of people gathered without restriction to watch spectacular fireworks in capitals across the country.
In London, the chimes of Big Ben rang out to signal the start of the new year as crowds of more than 100,000 lined the Thames to watch an iconic fireworks display.
Read more from Maryam Zakir-Hussain here:
Natalie Crockett January 1, 2023 3:30 am
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The wandering walrus puts a wrench in the works for Scarborough’s New Year celebrations
An Arctic walrus, named ‘Thor’, which was spotted off the coast of Hampshire earlier this month, arrived in port before New Year’s Eve and put a stop to some celebrations.
Scarborough Borough Council canceled the firework display on the advice of British Divers Marine Life Rescue after the organization expressed concerns that it could cause “distress” to the mammal.
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Natalie Crockett January 1, 2023 3:00 am
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Thousands of people gathered hours before the celebrations began in New York’s Time Square.
(Gabriele Holtermann/UPI/Shutterstock)
(Gabriele Holtermann/UPI/Shutterstock)
Natalie Crockett January 1, 2023 02:30 am
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Celebrations ‘a reminder of how we’ve come from the darkest days of the pandemic’
In Edinburgh, crowds enjoyed what First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called the “first full Hogmanay celebrations in three years”.
“Thinking back to Hogmanay last year, and indeed the year before, we are reminded of how far we have come since the darkest days of the pandemic,” he said in a New Year’s message on Twitter.
People queued in the rain to get into the party on Princes Street as fireworks lit up the sky behind the town’s castle.
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Natalie Crockett January 1, 2023 02:00 am
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London’s New Year’s show pays tribute to the Queen and took a look at Ukraine
London’s New Year’s fireworks display paid tribute to the late Queen, with a voice recording of her and words from Dame Judi Dench, before honoring the King, along with a message from Charles about the need to preserve the future of our planet.
With music including Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, Ukrainian Eurovision winner Kalush Orchestra and hits from Stormzy, Dua Lipa, Cher, Dave, Rihanna and Calvin Harris, the show concluded with the traditional Auld Lang Syne.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he was “delighted” that Londoners and visitors could once again come together on the banks of the River Thames to ring in the New Year.
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Natalie Crockett January 1, 2023 1:30 am
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100,000 people gather along the Thames in London for sold-out ‘love and unity’ show
Revelers braved the wet weather to welcome 2023.
Big Ben rang out in London as a crowd of more than 100,000 people gathered along the Thames Embankment in central London to watch 12,000 fireworks streak across the sky.
The sell-out show was designed to send a message of ‘love and unity’ as it highlighted the Lionesses’ historic Euro win at Wembley, which marked 50 years of London’s pride with a message from Peter Tatchell of the Gay Liberation Front. and sent a message of support to Ukraine.
People gather on the embankment in front of the London Eye (Victoria Jones/PA)
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Natalie Crockett January 1, 2023 1:00 am
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UK welcomes New Year with iconic fireworks tribute to late Queen
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Maryam Zakir-Hussain January 1, 2023 00:09
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The countdown to the New Year begins in London
People gather on the embankment in front of the London Eye in central London as minutes remain in 2022.
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Maryam Zakir-Hussain December 31, 2022 11:58 p.m
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Fireworks light up the sky to welcome the new year in Uganda
Fireworks light up the sky as people react as they celebrate after the countdown to the new year at the Miracle Center Cathedral in Kampala, Uganda.
(AFP via Getty Images)
(AFP via Getty Images)
Maryam Zakir-Hussain December 31, 2022 11:30 pm
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Paris and Berlin welcome 2023
Spectacular scenes are coming from Paris and Berlin as the new year begins in cities across Europe.
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Maryam Zakir-Hussain December 31, 2022 11:20 p.m