Happy 2020: New Year Celebrations From Around The World

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People worldwide celebrated the new year and new decade with fireworks displays (Credit: Junaida279/CC0/Pixabay)

Happy 2020! At the stroke of midnight on December 31, 2019, cities worldwide rang in both a new year and a new decade with dazzling fireworks shows. Here are some of this year's most spectacular displays from around the world.

Sydney, Australia

Sydney, Australia, one of the first major cities on Earth to ring in the new year, is famous for staging two majestic fireworks shows annually. The first, a family-friendly display for Australian residents with young children, takes place at 9:00 pm local time, while the second, more extravagant show — broadcast live internationally to an eager audience of over a billion people — occurs at midnight local time.

The spectacle of light ushering in 2020 took 15 months to plan, cost $6.5 million, and comprised over 100,000 fireworks. The magnificent pyrotechnics display, which transformed the dark skies into a kaleidoscope of colors for 12 minutes, was launched from eight pontoons and four main barges off the iconic Sydney Harbour.

Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) welcomed 2020 with several fireworks and light shows across its seven emirates, or states. Though all were stunning, the one at the Ras Al Khaimah emirate captivated people worldwide. The 13-minute spectacle was witnessed live by hundreds of thousands of spectators, and billions more through online live feeds and telecasts. It also clinched two Guinness World Records titles for the "Most Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Launching Fireworks Simultaneously" and the "Longest Fireworks Waterfall."

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

As is the case each year, Brazil's biggest New Year festivities took place at Rio de Janeiro's beautiful Copacabana Beach. Over 3 million people, many dressed in white to signify their desire for peace, gathered on the sandy white beaches to watch the almost 34,000 pounds of colorful fireworks, which lit up the skies for an impressive 14 minutes! Some revelers extended the celebrations into the early hours of January 1, 2020, when they took a sunrise dip in the ocean to wash away all the troubles from 2019.

London, England

The Victoria Embankment and South Bank areas of the River Thames, were filled to capacity with 100,000 people eager to usher in 2020 with what London's mayor promised would be "the best display the capital had ever seen." They were not disappointed. The exciting show, which began against the backdrop of 12 powerful chimes from the iconic Big Ben, featured stunning fireworks set off from the London Eye and barges moored in a central location along the Thames.

The International Space Station (ISS)

The Expedition 60 crewmembers — NASA's Andrew Morgan, Christina Koch, and Jessica Meir, European Space Agency's Luca Parmitano, and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Skvortsov — did not experience any fireworks on the space station. However, since the ISS circles the planet every hour and a half, they did witness 16 spectacular sunrises and sunsets on New Year's Eve. The explorers also welcomed 2020 — which marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first component of the floating Space Station — much earlier than the flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control center in Houston.

"The space station operates on Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT, meaning it will only be 7 pm ET when the orbiting astronauts' clock strikes midnight to ring in the new year," NASA officials explained in a Twitter statement.

How did you ring in the new year and the new decade? Be sure to let us know by writing your comments below.

Resources: Space.com, dailymail.co.uk, thenationalae,khaleejtimes.com, CNN.com

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210 Comments
  • hammerpig
    hammerpigalmost 5 years
    i was at tapei 101!
    • little_angel727
      little_angel727almost 5 years
      I'm from South Korea and I kinda did nothing except for watching the bell ring from the TV. I think it's traditional, but I wish I did fun things like you did!! Happy new year!
    • miles1812
      miles1812almost 5 years
      Ok that was cool! In my opinion though Id say Sydney came in first place and London came in second. But anyways tht was awesome hope you guys had a great New year!
      • jr1720
        jr1720almost 5 years
        For my new year, I stayed home and had a bunch of appetizers. Yum! I ate most of the pizza!!!! LOL 😆
        • jr1720
          jr1720almost 5 years
          Where were you? Tell me in the comments!! BTW Happy New year! #2020
          • fate34
            fate34almost 5 years
            I was in Indiana,boring place it seems,but home and fun.👌
        • mooshroomz
          mooshroomzalmost 5 years
          I went to Washington D.C.
          • slytherin_lover
            slytherin_loveralmost 5 years
            I was in Las Vegas. Where were you???? Also, Happy New Year!!!!
          • stellaluna
            stellalunaalmost 5 years
            Happy 2020!!! I hope all of our goals were met, and new ones are being set. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did!!! Thank you to all my followers and people on this wonderful website!!
          • chocolate168
            chocolate168almost 5 years
            Whoo-hoo! HAPPY NEW YEAR AND DECADE!!!!
            • fihikody-156942983450
              fihikody-156942983450almost 5 years
              this is nice
              • lpsbrooklyn13
                lpsbrooklyn13almost 5 years
                Ok I'll tell you what I did! Ok so my family and I got 12 grapes and every second to the countdown we are one and made a wish for each!! What did you do? Tell me in the comments below!
                • lpsbrooklyn13
                  lpsbrooklyn13almost 5 years
                  We ate grapes and made wishes, I mean.
                  • lpsbrooklyn13
                    lpsbrooklyn13almost 5 years
                    Omg you did such cool things!! I hope you had fun!
                    • fate34
                      fate34almost 5 years
                      Sounds like fun!
                      • miles1812
                        miles1812almost 5 years
                        Nice
                        • superomegagamer
                          superomegagameralmost 5 years
                          I actually played video games until midnight, which my brother and I woke our mother up so that we could tell her "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!". I actually went camp for a week myself December 26th to New Years Eve, so I was more sleepier than I normally am. But it was totally worth it!
                        • becca7500
                          becca7500almost 5 years
                          We all snuggled together and then tooted horns at midnight! We usually watch the ball drop but everyone was too tired! We also went shopping and bought new toys. It was amazing!