The new year which also marks the beginning of a new decade was ushered in with fireworks display in many parts of the world, including Lagos Nigeria, where there was a countdown at the Eko Atlantic City.
It was a double event at the venue as rapper Naira Marley also had a concert going on simultaneously.
In Sydney, Australia not even the forest fires ravaging the country mellowed the celebrations. The smoke-choked city ushered in the New Year with a huge fireworks display. More than 100,000 fireworks lit up the skyline for the hundreds of thousands of spectators thronging the city centre.
Dazzling Display in Sydney Australia
Fireworks in Bangkok Thailand
But the displays were cancelled in Canberra, the capital and the suburbs of Sydney.
It was a different reception for the year in Hong kong, where months long protest continued on Wednesday morning, with police firing tear gas at protesters, marking the year with rallies. A massive march is planned for today.
Protesters at the harbourfront counted down chanting “Ten! Nine! Liberate Hong Kong, revolution now!” as they lit up their phones in a sea of lights.
Malaysians celebrate with bubbles in Kuala. Lumpur
Smaller crowds of protesters in the Mong Kok district set fire to barricades — and riot police unleashed 2020’s first volleys of tear gas in response.
As the clock struck midnight in North Korea, a large crowd gathered for a concert in the centre of Pyongyang cheered as the clock struck midnight, with fireworks bursting in the sky above a neon-lit stage hosting a tightly-choreographed dance performance.
Across the border, South Koreans flocked to bell-ringing ceremonies — a traditional ritual marking the start of the new year — with thousands watching in central Seoul alongside performances by Korean pop stars.
In Paris, 250,000 to 300,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees to welcome the New Year, but turnout could suffer amid a gruelling transport strike that has spelt weeks of misery for commuters.
Midnight in London was marked by the chimes of Big Ben, which has been silent during a long restoration, as traditional fireworks are set off over the Thames for the last new year before Brexit.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual New Year address, 20 years after he was elevated to the presidency by Boris Yeltsin’s shock resignation in his 1999 end-of-year speech.
Russia celebrated the new decade over several time zones, with Muscovites flocking to the centre of the capital for fireworks over the Kremlin.
*Celebrations of the new year in other countries to be added later
