The world greeted 2016 with Champagne and cheers, but tightened security put a damper on the party in Europe.
Fireworks were cancelled in Brussels and Paris as November’s terror attacks cast a pall, but Dubai put on a spectacular show as it refused to let a major hotel blaze, which injured 16 people, disrupt celebrations.
The New Year's Eve Fireworks light up Sydney Harbour, as viewd from Mrs Macquarie's Point. Photo: EPA
People gather to watch the sunrise on the first day of the year in Odawara, Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo. Photo: Reuters
Sydney, traditionally the first to host a major New Year’s bash, kicked off the global festivities when it lit up the skies with pyrotechnics at the stroke of midnight.
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In Dubai, where a huge fire ripped through a luxury 63-storey hotel, festivities went ahead as planned and crowds cheered the arrival of 2016 with bursts of light and colour in a massive fireworks show that started at the iconic Burj Khalifa skyscraper, even as smoke was still billowing from the nearby blaze.
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In the heart of Europe, more than 100,000 police were deployed throughout France to guard celebrations that come six weeks after the jihadist attacks in Paris.
Using a long time exposure unseen people write '2016' using sparklers in front of the Houses of Parliament ahead of the new year fireworks in central London. Photo: EPA
Fireworks light the sky above the Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day. Photo: EPA
Girls kiss a police officer during the Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: Reuters
Annual festivities and fireworks in Brussels were cancelled as the Belgian capital - home to NATO and the European Union - remains on high alert.
