Rockets, Roman candles and Catherine wheels rang in the New Year as people all over the world marked the transition from 2013 to 2014. Celebrations varied from extravagant firework displays and exuberant parties to sober, religious ceremonies of many different faiths as we remembered those we have lost and rejoiced in the good that came our way in the past year.
Just as the fireworks that lit up the skies over many different iconic and historical sites was a common denominator, people all over the globe are connected by their hope that this new year will bring peace, prosperity, health and happiness.
A wave of pyrotechnic displays kicked off the choreographed music and fireworks show over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong (AFP PHOTO/ALEX OGLE)
Over 2000 balloons carrying wishes were released in the traditional countdown ceremony in Tokyo (AFP PHOTO/ KAZUHIRO NOGI)
Australia brought in the new year with a lavish fireworks display in Sidney over the iconic Harbour Bridge (AFP PHOTO/Farooq KHAN)
The famous ball in New York City’s Times Square (Barnard/Getty Images/AFP)
An old ship surrounded by fireworks in the harbour of Amsterdam, The Netherlands (AFP PHOTO / ANP / REMKO DE WAAL)
Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate surrounded by fireworks (AFP PHOTO / JOHN MACDOUGALL)
Big Ben and the London Eye provided the backdrop for London’s fireworks (AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL)
Fireworks light up the sky over the ancient temple of Parthenon atop the Acropolis hill in Greece (AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS)
Fireworks explode around the Mohammed al-Amin mosque in Beirut (AFP /STR)
Egyptian Coptic children dressed in Santa Claus attend the New Year mass service at the Virgin Mary Coptic Christian church in Cairo’s Al-Warrak neighborhood (AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI)
Fireworks explode from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai during the glittering fireworks display that spanned over 100 kilometres of the coast (AFP PHOTO / STRINGER)
A lightshow illuminates the Great Wall in China (AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO)
