With countdowns and fireworks, partygoers in cities across the world ushered in the first New Year’s Day without Covid-19 restrictions since the pandemic began in 2020.

Fireworks explode over Sky Tower in central Auckland as New Year celebrations begin in New Zealand (Dean Purcel/NZ Herald via AP)

More than a million people were expected to crowd along Sydney’s waterfront for a multimillion-dollar celebration based around the themes of diversity and inclusion.

Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge as New Year celebrations begin in Sydney, Australia (Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image via AP)
Hong Kong New Year’s Eve
The celebrations at Victoria Harbour at midnight in Hong Kong (Anthony Kwan/AP/PA)
Thailand New Year’s Eve
Fireworks explode over the Chao Phraya River during New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand (Sakchai Lalit/AP/PA)

Celebrations are being held at the Great Wall in Beijing, while in Shanghai authorities said traffic will be stopped along the waterfront Bund to allow pedestrians to gather on New Year’s Eve.

Taiwan New Year’s Eve
A firework display explodes off Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper Taipei101 to usher in the New Year in Taipei, Taiwan (Chiang Ying-ying/AP/PA)
Indonesia New Year’s Eve
A women wearing a mask waits on the main business district to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Jakarta, Indonesia (Achmad Ibrahim/AP)
South Korea New Year’s Eve
People light up their smartphones as they celebrate the New Year’s eve in front of the Bosingak pavilion where its annual New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony is held in Seoul, South Korea (Lee Jin-man/AP)
South Korea New Year’s Eve
A woman holds her smartphone displaying 2023 as she celebrates the New Year in Seoul (Lee Jin-man/AP)
Times Square Ball Drop New York
The New Year’s Eve ball sits on top of One Times Square in New York (Ted Shaffrey/AP)
New York New Years
The 2023 New Year’s Eve numerals are displayed in Times Square (Julia Nikhinson/AP)
Palestinians New Year
Palestinian women in front of giant panda decorations and an illuminated 2023 in Gaza City (Adel Hana/AP)
China New Year’s Eve
Revellers wear bunny ear lights to ring in the new year in Beijing (Ng Han Guan/AP/PA)
Russia New Year Preparation
People dressed as Ded Moroz – Grandfather Frost, the Russian Santa Claus – attend an annual flash mob in Moscow’s Metro hours before New Year’s Eve celebrations on the city (Sergei Kiselev, Moscow News Agency photo via AP)
Turkey New Year’s Eve
Members of a Turkish dance club perform during New Year’s Eve celebrations in a public garden in the Turkish capital Ankara (Burhan Ozbilici/AP)

On the last day of the year, marked by the brutal war in Ukraine, many in the country returned to the capital Kyiv to spend New Year’s Eve with their loved ones.

Russia Ukraine War
Ukrainian soldier Vasyl Khomko, 42, hugs his daughter Yana as she arrives from Slovakia at a train station in Kyiv (Roman Hrytsyna/AP)