New Year 2025: World waves goodbye to tumultuous 12 months

The 2024 send-off soirees are getting going across the United States after a huge swath of the globe has already said hello to the new year.

More than a million people were estimated to have poured into New York City’s Times Square on Tuesday night for the iconic midnight ball drop, complete with a boosted police presence.

The ball made its 139-foot drop and then a medley of songs played, including “Auld Lang Syne,” and Frank Sinatra’s performance of “New York, New York.” The plaza, bordered by high-rises and walls composed of digital billboards, was lit up like high noon as the official Times Square billboard that marks the calendar flashed “2025.”

Accompanying the drop of the nearly 12,000-pound ball, which organizers said will be replaced for next year’s event, was an estimated 3,000 pounds of confetti released from nearby rooftops, they said. Some were adorned with wishes for the new year sent to Times Square.

Shortly after the ball drop, the New York Police Department’s office of Deputy Commissioner Public Information said no arrests had been made during public celebrations and no major incidents had been reported.

The global New Year’s transition began long before the big moment in New York City. In all, it takes 26 hours for the entire world to welcome the New Year across 39 local time zones.

Nations in the South Pacific Ocean were the first to wave goodbye to 2024. Midnight in New Zealand is 18 hours ahead of Eastern Time.

In some Asian countries, millions readied for the Year of the Snake, seen as the year of rebirth in the Asian zodiac.

In Japan, which observes the zodiac cycle from Jan. 1, stores were seen selling snake-themed products while temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning before much of the nation shut down in celebration.