SYDNEY (AFP) – Crowds marvelled at fireworks to greet 2025 yesterday, waving goodbye to a year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return and turmoil in the Middle East.
It is all but certain that 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, with climate-fuelled disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley.
As New Year’s Eve parties kicked into gear along Australia’s picturesque Sydney Harbour yesterday afternoon, many revellers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.
“It would be nice for the world if it all sort of fixed itself, sorted itself out,” insurance worker Stuart Edwards, 32, told AFP.
The self-proclaimed “New Year’s capital of the world” sprayed nine tonnes of fireworks from its famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge at midnight.
“Just to see all the beautiful colours and enjoy being in this situation with so many people in wonderful Australia,” said 71-year-old retired nurse Ruth Rowse.
Taylor Swift brought the curtain down on her Eras tour this year, pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral and football teen prodigy Lamine Yamal helped Spain conquer the Euros.
The Paris Olympics united the world for a brief few weeks in July and August. Athletes swam in the Seine, raced in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower and rode horses across the manicured lawns outside the Palace of Versailles.
It was a global year of elections, with countless millions going to the polls across more than 60 countries.
