The year 2023 began 17 hours ago, when the island nation of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean welcomed you. He was the first in the world to receive it. An hour later, New Zealand welcomed him: the citizens of the Chatham Islands, Tonga, Samoa and major cities such as Auckland and Wellington.
The more than 6,500 inhabitants of the island of Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island), in Kiribati, entered on January 1 at 10:00 GMT on December 31, 15 minutes before the Chatham Islands and a hour before the island countries of Tonga and Samoa, also in the South Pacific, and most of
New Zealand. Auckland, its capital, is the first great city in the world
in receiving the new year at 11:00 GMT on December 31 and with the return of normality to the celebrations after two years of restrictions due to the covid-19 pandemic.
Asia, with balloons and concerts
An hour later, the New Year arrived in Fiji, Tuvalu, Nauru and other Kiribati islands, as well as the Chukotka region, in the extreme northeast of Russia, while some of the main cities of Australia, such as Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra , received 2023 at 13:00 GMT.
As in most countries, the celebrations resumed with almost full normality after the pandemic, with around a million spectators congregating in Sydney Harbor to witness the fireworks.
After Japan and South Korea, the countries of Southeast Asia recounted the last minutes of 2022 with hardly any restrictions and with the return of fireworks. Although Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, China and Vietnam receive their
New Year on different dates, they also celebrated New Year’s Eve according to the Gregorian calendar, especially in large cities.
In major cities in Japan, the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, balloons, light and drone shows, and concerts became prominent.
The tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, lit up and with a spectacle of blue and yellow colors, said goodbye to 2022 and ushered in the following year. Millions of people attended the show that was broadcast on YouTube. The countdown, to the sound of the fountains, was the prelude to the colossal show of purple, red and blue fireworks.
Russia and Moscow have already entered the new year. The emblematic Red Square and the main streets were guarded by the Police, after the government authorities decided to cancel the massive New Year’s shows in the Russian capital.
Europe welcomes the new year
Finland, Greece, Turkey, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine were the first European countries to receive 2023.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski assured this Saturday in his end-of-year message that Ukraine will continue to fight until the “victory” in the war against Russia and until it recovers all the territories occupied or annexed by Moscow. “We fight and we will continue fighting. To make this word come true: victory,” he declared in his speech on December 31, in which he said he hoped that 2023 would be “the year of the recovery (…) of our lands,” he assured .
Hundreds of people gathered on the Champs-Élysées, looking towards the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, to welcome January 1.
News in development…
WEATHER EDITORIAL
*With information from agencies
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