Fireworks displayed as Pakistan bids adieu to 2025, New Yorkers welcome 2026 at Times Square
Pakistan
A magnificent display of fireworks was held in various cities including Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Like other parts of the world, Pakistan also celebrated the beginning of the New Year by setting off fireworks.
People bade adieu to 2025 and welcomed 2026, with best wishes and prayers.
A magnificent display of fireworks was held in various cities including Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi. The sky was illuminated with colorful lights. A magnificent display of fireworks was seen at Liberty Chowk in Lahore.
Read More: Happy New Year: Let's hope for the best
Citizens celebrated and welcomed the New Year. They remained hopeful for prosperity, progress, and peace in the New Year.
Fireworks were displayed at Governor House Karachi, Bagh Ibn Qasim, and Port Grand. A large number of citizens gathered, prayers were offered for the security, development, peace, and stability of the holy land, and a determination was made to make the beloved homeland greater than ever.
Grand celebrations were held on New Year's Eve in other cities including Peshawar and Quetta. A musical programme was held on New Year's Eve in Bagh Ibn Qasim, Karachi.
There were performances by famous singers, young people were excited, fireworks were also displayed, and magnificent fireworks were also displayed in Islamabad.
Dunya Media Group wishes Pakistanis a Happy New Year. The sun set on 2025 with numerous successes on the global and military fronts.
Read More: 27 injured in Karachi firing incidents on New Year's Eve
The United States is among the countries where the new year started late. Thousands of revelers in Times Square, New York, welcomed the 2026 New Year with fireworks and the annual Times Square Ball Drop on Thursday.
Revelers were also treated to a surprise as the Times Square Ball was relit in red, white, and blue before rising to mark the start of the United States' Semiquincentennial year.
US President Donald Trump hosted a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach on Wednesday, where he auctioned off a live painting of Jesus Christ for $2.75 million.
Midnight arrived first on the islands closest to the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Tonga and New Zealand, adds Reuters.
The new year 2026 celebrations began in New Zealand on Wednesday. The capital Auckland lit up to welcome the year, with a spectacular fireworks display marking the celebrations in the city.
In Australia, Sydney began 2026 with a spectacular fireworks display, as per tradition. Some 40,000 pyrotechnic effects stretched 7 km (over 4 miles) across buildings and barges in its harbour and featured a waterfall effect from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
This year, it was held under an enhanced police presence, weeks after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city.
In Japan, South Korea, and other Asian countries, traditional rituals and ceremonies were held to mark the new year.
In Seoul, thousands gathered at the Bosingak bell pavilion, where a bronze bell was struck 33 times at midnight - a tradition rooted in Buddhist cosmology, symbolizing the 33 heavens. The chimes are believed to dispel misfortune and welcome peace and prosperity for the year ahead.
The New Year begins relatively later in Europe and the Middle East, while the United States is among the last countries to welcome the New Year.
On Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro - locals welcomed in the New Year in warmer weather with a music and fireworks party known as "Reveillon." Organisers were hoping to beat their 2024 Guinness World Record for the biggest New Year's Eve celebration.
