The more than 7,300 inhabitants of the remote island of Kiritimati, in the island nation of Kiribati, located in the South Pacific, They were the first people in the world to receive 2024.
To the inhabitants of this island, who entered on January 1st when in Colombia it was 5 am on December 31st, They were followed about 15 minutes later by citizens of the New Zealand territory of the Chatham Islands, while an hour later it was the turn of Tonga, Samoa and the main cities of New Zealand.
In Auckland, the first major city to welcome the new year, as is tradition, the countdown to the arrival of 2024 was carried out from the Sky towerin the center of the city, followed by a fireworks show over the bay of the New Zealand capital.
An hour later the New Year arrived in Fiji, Tuvalu, Nauru and other islands of Kiribati, as well as the Chukotka region, in the far northeast of Russia.
(Read also: Why did migration of Colombians to the US skyrocket in 2023 and what to expect in 2024?)
It was also followed by the main cities of Australia such as SydneyMelbourne or Canberra, who received 2024 at 1:00 p.m. GMT (8 am, Colombia time).
Around a million people, according to official estimates, were going to gather in Sydney Harbor -self-proclaimed “New Year's capital of the world”- to witness the eight tons of fireworks that lit the fuse of 2024.
(Also: What is known about the man who was found in the landing gear of a plane in Paris)
Even before nightfall, tens of thousands of people gathered at strategic points around the city's iconic Harbor Bridge, braving unusually wet weather.
▶️HAPPY 2024 | 🥳
Officially, a new year has begun in Australia.🇦🇺
The traditional celebration with fireworks went viral on social networks. 😍
Images of the festivities in Sydney. 👇pic.twitter.com/qSJOvSrcmk
— DELPY 📱🎬 (@delpynews) December 31, 2023
The next to welcome the year will be the inhabitants of places like Japan, South Korea and China.
All over the world, Jubilant crowds will say goodbye to the hottest year on record this Sunday and close 12 turbulent months marked by intelligent chatbots, climate crises and heartbreaking wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
The world's population, now over eight billion, will bid farewell to the old and usher in the new, hoping to shake off the weight of high living costs and global tumult.
(More news: New Year's in the United States: what's open on January 1?)
Among the notable events of the past year are the proliferation of human-like artificial intelligence tools and the world's first complete eye transplant.
India overtook China as the world's most populous country and then became the first nation to land a rocket on the dark side of the moon.
It was also the warmest year since records began in 1880, with a series of climate-induced disasters affecting from Australia to the Horn of Africa and the Amazon Basin.
Fans said goodbye to “Queen of Rock 'n' Roll” Tina Turner, “Friends” actor Matthew Perry, Anglo-Irish singer-songwriter Shane MacGowan and master of the dystopian novel Cormac McCarthy.
But 2023 will be remembered, above all, for the war in the Middle East, initiated with the October 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel and Israeli retaliation.
Those who continue to welcome the New Year
10:00 am (Colombia time): Japan, South Korea and four more
10:15 am (Colombia time): Western Australia/Australia
11:00 am (Colombia time): China, Philippines and 10 more
12 noon (Colombia time): Much of Indonesia, Thailand and seven more
12:30 pm (Colombia time): Myanmar and Cocos Islands
4:00 pm (Colombia time): Moscow/Russia and 22 more
5:00 pm (Colombia time): Greece and 31 more (including Egypt, South Africa and Romania)
6:00 pm (Colombia time): Germany and 45 more (including Algeria, Italy, Belgium and France)
7:00 pm (Colombia time): United Kingdom and 24 more (including Portugal and Iceland)
10:00 pm (Colombia time): Most of Brazil, Argentina and nine more
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL
*With AFP, EFE AND EL COMERCIO (GDA)
#Photos #Kiritimati #Island #Zealand #Australia