Wearing colorful hats and costumes for a road race in São Paulo, dancing in a field in Bali, dipping into a frigid lake in Croatia and — of course — setting off lots and lots of fireworks, people around the world came together on Wednesday to celebrate the end of 2025 and bring in a new year.
New Year’s Eve offered a moment to reflect after a year of disruption. A trade war led by a new Trump administration upended world markets. Federal raids targeting immigrants in major U.S. cities set off protests and lawsuits. President Trump dismantled some pillars of government and reshaped others.
Globally, old conflicts raged on in Ukraine and Sudan and deadly new tensions flared across borders in Asia. Violence continued in Gaza despite a cease-fire. The United States bombed Iran and attacked boats in the Caribbean in what legal experts said amounted to extrajudicial killings.
There were milestones. An American pope. A new government in Syria. A Muslim man elected mayor of New York. The death of the penny. And an engagement announcement from one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
As 2026 dawned, here’s how commemorations looked around the world:
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