by Mick the Ram

New Zealand became the first major country to welcome in 2025 celebrating with its own famous fireworks shooting out of Auckland’s Sky Tower, as the countdown reached midnight.

The five-minute display is as always, the highest in the Southern Hemisphere, and involved more than half a tonne of pyrotechnics being launched from three firing sites alongside a laser light show.

It took over 5 months to plan and produce, with more than 350 hours dedicated to equipment installation for the synchronised effects.

Kiribati was actually first

However, they were not the first to see in the new year, Kiribati became the first independently recognised country to enter 2025, or to be more precise, Kirkimati – better known as Christmas Island – took the honour, as it does every year.

It is part of the large group of islands that make up Kiribati, but with a population of just 1,692 people, their celebrations were a little more modest.

More than a day for whole world to join in

There are actually 39 time-zones across the globe, meaning that it takes 26 hours for the entire world to see in a new year.

Tonga, Samoa and Fiji soon followed the first batch, then two hours after New Zealand it’s Australia’s turn.

Hope for new year new solutions?

Then the big countries get ticked off one by one travelling west. Japan, South Korea and China are joined by Singapore and the Philippines.

After those it is the chance for Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan to party, before the Middle East and eastern Europe including Russia, Ukraine and Israel bring in a new year and with it a desperate hope for some solutions to the terrible wars still raging.

Bad weather causing cancellations

New Year reaches western Europe 12 hours after the New Zealand celebrations, before the UK takes its turn. Sadly bad weather has forced the cancellation of some of its most popular events, including in Edinburgh and Blackpool.

Officials in London are monitoring the situation ahead of their massive fireworks display over the River Thames, which are still expected to go ahead.

Party time in the Caribbean

Three hours later Brazil and Argentina say goodbye to 2024 swiftly followed by Venezuela and most of the Caribbean including Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.

Sixty minutes further on and Cuba and Jamaica join 2025, as well as the eastern United States, including Washington and New York City. The west of the country are a further 3 hours behind and in between that Mexico take their turn.

And finally…

The final US state of Hawaii is another two hours on from the west coast states and then as New Zealanders shake off any remaining hangovers from their celebrations which began 25 hours earlier, the two tiny uninhabited islands of Baker and Howard sitting south west of Honolulu, will become the final places to see in 2025.