(VOVWORLD) - The world welcomed the new year with a packed party in Times Square and fireworks soaring above European capitals, while hoping for an end to the conflict in Ukraine and a return to post-COVID normality in Asia.
 Fireworks explode during New Year celebrations, at the Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 31, 2022. (REUTERS/Aline Massuca) |
It was a year marked by the conflict in Ukraine, economic stresses and the effects of global warming. But it was also a year that saw a dramatic soccer World Cup, rapid technological change, and efforts to meet climate challenges.
After 2023 descended upon Asia, Africa and Europe, New York rang in the new year in typical style as thousands corralled themselves into pens under pouring rain in Times Square, waiting hours for the ball to drop. A 12-foot (3.7-meter) geodesic sphere made of Waterford crystal triangles slid down a pole atop a 25-story building to mark the calendar change.
Earlier, across the Atlantic, the London Eye turned blue and yellow in as fireworks saw in midnight in the British capital.
The celebration, which London's mayor had branded the biggest in Europe, also referenced Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.
For Ukraine, there seemed to be no end in sight to the fighting that began in February.
Evening curfews remained in place nationwide, making the celebration of the beginning of 2023 impossible in many public spaces.
In Kyiv, though, people gathered near the city's central Christmas tree as midnight approached.
Russian President Vladimir Putin devoted his New Year's address to rallying the Russian people behind his troops.
Festivities in Moscow were muted, without the usual fireworks on Red Square.
 People gather on the Champs Elysees avenue during the New Year's Eve celebrations near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, December 31, 2022. (REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier) |
Elsewhere in Europe, fireworks exploded over the Parthenon in Athens, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, where crowds gathered on the Champs-Elysees avenue to watch the French capital's first New Year fireworks since 2019.
 Fireworks explode over Sydney Harbour during the New Year's Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia, January 1, 2023. (REUTERS/Jaimi Joy) |
Earlier, Australia kicked off the celebrations with its first restriction-free New Year's Eve after two years of COVID disruptions.
Sydney welcomed the New Year with a typically dazzling fireworks display, which for the first time featured a rainbow waterfall off the Harbour Bridge.