As Wednesday turned to Thursday, people around the world said goodbye to a sometimes challenging 2025 and expressed hopes for the new year to come.
In Croatia, revels got off to an early start. Since 2000, the town of Fuzine has held its countdown at noon, a tradition that has since spread across the country.
Crowds cheered, toasted each other with champagne and danced to music – all in the middle of the day. Some brave souls in Santa hats took a plunge into the icy waters of Lake Bajer.
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Elsewhere, preparations got under way for the more traditional midnight toast. In sub-zero temperatures in New York, organisers began putting up security barriers and stages ahead of the crowds that will flock to Times Square for the annual ball drop.
Similarly, on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro – albeit with warmer weather – staging was being set up for a massive 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.
In snowy Kyiv, Ukrainians prepared to see in the new year clinging to hopes of peace, although many lamented that after nearly four years of conflict with Russia, it still seemed elusive.