Kiribati may be the first place in the world to actually witness the start of the New Year, but the small Pacific island can't compete with the way they celebrate the event down under.
As Britons stock up on booze whilst dithering on where to go at midnight and ultimately settle on the worst choice, New Zealand and Australia welcomed in the New Year with amazing fireworks displays as celebrations begin around the world.
Sydneysiders may be miles away from the rest of the world but they take being one of the first major cities in the world to celebrate New Year particularly seriously, with 1.5 million people crowding Sydney harbour to watch fireworks erupt over the city's famous bridge and Opera House.
This year the Australian city saw a 12-minute tropical-style fireworks display with gold and silver palm tree pyrotechnic effects.
With the celebrations occurring just a few weeks after a man held 18 people hostage in a cafe in Sydney, a tribute to two hostages killed in the siege was displayed on the Harbour Bridge's pylons and an extra 3,000 police officers patrolled the city.
Over in New Zealand, a giant clock on Auckland's Sky Tower counted down the minutes until the New Year, with a huge fireworks display launching at midnight.
Additional reporting by the AP.
Fireworks explode above the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye Getty Images The Hogmanay New Year celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland PA The 'National Fireworks' light up the night sky above the Scheepvaart Museum, in Amsterdam EPA People attend the 2015 New Year celebrations in Istanbul EPA Fireworks light up the night sky during new year celebrations at the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin EPA People gather on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris before celebrating the New Year Getty Images Fireworks are sent up from the Shard building in London Fireworks explode above the ancient temple of Parthenon atop the Acropolis hill in Athens Getty Images The New Year's party at Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate Getty Images Dubai celebrates the New Year with a light and sound extravaganza at midnight at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower Getty Images Acrobatic performers, dressed in Santa Claus costumes, celebrate the New Year at Firdous Square in Baghdad, Iraq AP People look at fireworks during a New Year celebration in Manila Getty Images Fireworks go off at the Taipei 101 skyscraper to celebrate the New Year in Taipei EPA Manila welcomes in 2015 in spectacular fashion EPA Fireworks explode near Kuala Lumpur's landmark Petronas Towers EPA People take part in the Procession of Light through the centre of Dublin to begin the city's New Year's eve festival PA New Year celebrations seen from the banks of the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City Getty Images Performers celebrate the arrival of 2015 at the Olympic Park in Beijing EPA Fireworks explode over the Petronas Twin Towers during New Year celebrations in Kuala Lumpur AP Sydney locals, Demi Bryant, 22, and James Hundt, 28, celebrate the beginning of the New Year atop a high-rise overlooking the iconic Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks display aside their next dream car, the all-new 2015 Ford Mustang Fireworks erupt after midnight in Times Square during the New Year's Eve celebration in New York. Thousands braved the cold to watch the annual ball drop and ring in the new year. AP Concert goers celebrate the New Year at Madison Square Gardens in New York City Getty People release balloons to celebrate the New Year during an annual countdown ceremony in Tokyo Fireworks explode near the observation wheel during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the New Year in Hong Kong People gather to celebrate the New Year at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong Getty Images A reveler wears a headgear reading 'Happy New Year' during the New Year's Eve party in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany New Year's Eve fireworks erupt over Sydney's iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House during the traditional fireworks show held at midnight Revelers walk on the street during a light show at a stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate during the New Year's Eve party in Berlin Indian artist Harwinder Singh Gill, in Amritsar, displays his special creation featuring famous internet logos, and generic nature scenes, to wish the world a Happy New Year in 2015 People gather at the Sydney Opera House to welcome in the new year on New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbour A boy lights a candle with his mother before a ceremony to celebrate the new year at Bongeun Buddhist temple in Seoul Fireworks light up the Sydney Opera House during an early light show before the midnight New Year fireworks, December 31, 2014. More than 10,000 aerial fireworks, 25,000 shooting comets and 100,000 pyrotechnic effects are expected to be used during the annual Sydney Harbour New Year's Eve show, with an estimated 1.6 million people watching from along the harbour foreshore Firework display from the top of the Sky Tower to welcome the New Year 2015 in Auckland A Palestinian Young writes in the sands of the sea in 2015 before sunset last day of the year Indian youngsters celebrate the welcoming of the New Year 2015 in Bhopal A man and a woman dressed as Father Frost (2-R) and his granddaughter (R) wave from a horse-drawn carriage as they take part in a New Year parade in Bishkek A participant frolics in the snow after taking part in the traditional New Year's swimming in the the Moossee lake with a water temperature of three degrees in Moosseedorf near Bern The numbers "2015" is written in the air with a sparkler at the frozen Mana River in the Taiga district outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk An arrangement five thousand red balloons spell the number '50' on the Marina Bay backdropped by the skyline of the Central Business District in Singapore. Singapore will celebrate its golden jubilee of 50 years of independence from Malaysia in 2015 A tourist writes "2015" with a light pen in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris Students with dragon dance props form "2015" to welcome the upcoming New Year at an art school in Hefei, Anhui provinceNew Year 2015: Celebrations around the world
New Year 2015: Celebrations around the world
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