Paris, France | AFP
(Updated) – Revellers across the world ushered in 2025 on Wednesday, with huge crowds waving goodbye to the old year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return, and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine.
It is all but certain that 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, with climate-fuelled disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley.
A tide of humanity washed onto Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach, where as many as 2.5 million people attended the city’s fireworks display and danced to the sounds of Anitta and other Brazilian performers.
“What’s better than starting the new year with strangers from all over the world?” said native New Yorker Norquan Tirick Goldson, one of tens of thousands of partygoers who braved freezing temperatures to cram into Times Square.
Couples kissed and strangers hugged as the Times Square ball descended and more than a ton of confetti fluttered from surrounding rooftops.
More than a million gathered in the centre of Paris to see out what resident Florence Coret described as “a rather complicated year”.
Thousands also lined the banks of London’s River Thames for a firework extravaganza, although bad weather washed out events elsewhere.
Pro-European Georgians rang in the new year by setting off fireworks at month-long rallies against a ruling party they accuse of being under Russia’s influence.
And Serbian students marched in Belgrade and two other cities demanding accountability over the collapse of a train station roof in November that killed 15 people.
Sydney sprayed nine tonnes of fireworks from its famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge to begin the year’s farewell.
A spectacular pyrotechnics display then lit up Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour as Asia joined in, popping champagne corks at New Year’s Eve parties.
Thousands thronged the streets of Taipei to watch Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper erupt in a dazzling display of fireworks.
Celebrations were more muted in Beijing, where visitors crammed into Yonghe Temple to light incense sticks, spin prayer wheels and pray for good fortune in 2025.
In 2024, Taylor Swift brought the curtain down on her Eras tour, pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral and teenage football prodigy Lamine Yamal helped Spain conquer the Euros.
The Paris Olympics united the world for a brief few weeks in July and August as athletes swam in the Seine and raced in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower.
Election upheaval
It was a global year of elections, with countless millions going to the polls across more than 60 countries.
Vladimir Putin prevailed in a Russian ballot widely dismissed as a sham, while a student uprising toppled Bangladesh’s prime minister.
No vote was as closely watched as the November 5 contest that secured Trump’s return to the White House.
The US president-elect has threatened to pile economic pain on China and boasted of his ability to halt the Ukraine war within “24 hours”.
A change of government is likewise afoot in Ghana, where John Mahama will be sworn in on January 7 after a peaceful transition raised hope among ordinary Ghanaians.
Syria smiles again
Turmoil rippled across the Middle East as Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, Israel marched into southern Lebanon, and doctored electronics exploded in a wave of Israeli assassinations targeting Hezbollah.
Civilians endured the grinding war in Gaza, where dwindling stocks of food, shelter and medicine made a humanitarian crisis even bleaker.
“May security and safety return, and may the war finally come to an end,” Wafaa Hajjaj told AFP from Deir el-Balah, where masses of displaced residents now cram into crowded tents.
People brandished “revolution” flags in Umayyad Square in Damascus after the overthrow of Assad ended 13 years of civil war.
“We did not expect such a miracle to happen, today the Syrians have found their smile again,” 22-year-old student Layane el Hijazi told AFP.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine inches towards its three-year anniversary in February.
Ukraine must now contend with a Trump administration seemingly intent on winding back crucial military aid but President Volodymyr Zelensky remains defiant.
He acknowledged in his new year address that “peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war”.
Sudan also marked its second new year of war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that has killed tens of thousands and uprooted more than 12 million.
“We hope to come back to our houses safe and sound this year, for this war to end and just to be able to see home once more,” Fatma Mohamed told AFP in Port Sudan.
Comebacks, football, festivals in 2025
There is plenty to look forward to in 2025, with AI advances on the horizon and rampant inflation tipped to slow.
Britpop bad boys Oasis will make a long-awaited reunion, while K-pop megastars BTS return to the stage after military service in South Korea.
Football aficionados will also discover a revamped 32-team Club World Cup hosted by the United States.
And about 400 million pilgrims are expected at the spectacular Kumbh Mela festival on India’s sacred riverbanks — billed as the largest gathering of humanity on the planet.
The UK weather service has forecast sweltering global temperatures for 2025, suggesting it will likely rank among the hottest years recorded.
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