With a fireworks show in Auckland on Monday, New Zealanders celebrated the arrival of 2024 among the first people in the globe. The fireworks, which included a laser light and animation show, lit up the overcast night sky.
World welcomes New Year: Here’s how some other locations and individuals celebrated the end of 2023 and the start of a new year throughout the globe.
SYDNEY: Sydney celebrated the 50th anniversary of its iconic Opera House on December 20, 2024, with a spectacular fireworks display that included gold and silver pyrotechnics.
GAZA
After 12 weeks of Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas, residents of Gaza had little optimism that 2024 would offer much relief. In Rafah, on Gaza’s Egyptian border, the main hub for Palestinians escaping other areas of the enclave, residents were more focused on finding food, water, and shelter on Sunday than they were on the New Year’s holiday.
Abu Abdullah al-Agha, a middle-aged Palestinian man whose house in Khan Younis was destroyed and who lost a little niece and nephew in an Israeli air strike, stated, “In 2024 I wish to go back to the wreckage of my home, pitch a tent, and live there.”
Queen Margrethe II announced on Sunday, during her customary New Year’s speech, that she would abdicate on January 14 after 52 years in power. Her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, will succeed her.
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Ahead of his March election, Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned his battle in Ukraine only in passing during his Sunday New Year’s speech, praising his troops as heroes but focusing primarily on unanimity and shared resolve.
XI JINPING
Additionally, In a televised speech on Sunday to celebrate the start of the New Year, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared that his nation will maintain long-term economic development with more profound changes and that it will strengthen and consolidate the favourable trend of its economic recovery in 2024.
Kim Jong-Un North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that conflict is inevitable due to U.S. policies, and his country promised to launch three more surveillance satellites, create military drones, and increase its nuclear weapons in 2024, according to state media on Sunday.
Pope Francis said: “I wish everyone a peaceful end of the year, and please do not forget to pray for me” during his Sunday prayers at the Vatican.
