Wellington/Sydney, 31 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Celebrations for the start of 2024 are well under way with Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific welcoming in the New Year.

In Sydney, a mega light show lit up the sky against the world-famous backdrop of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. According to the organizers, more than 13,500 fireworks were set off in the harbour district alone.

There were also light projections generated by artificial intelligence.

The landmarks of New Zealand's largest city Auckland were also illuminated, with fireworks lighting up the Sky Tower, while viewers enjoyed a laser light and animation show synchronized with other landmarks, including Auckland's Harbour Bridge.

The five-minute and 30-second-long Sky Tower fireworks display at Sky Tower, which is the highest in the Southern Hemisphere, began with a 10-second countdown projected onto the base of the tower before 500 kilograms of pyrotechnics were launched.

SkyCity chief operating officer Callum Mallett said watching the fireworks cascade from the tower had become a tradition for many.

He added: "It’s a time when people come together to celebrate the upcoming year and enjoy time with friends and family. New Zealand is the first in the world to bring in the New Year, and we are delighted to play a part in those celebrations."

The Pacific country's capital Wellington also organized fireworks and music at an inner city lagoon.

At the same time, two separate fireworks displays in Samoa, one in the capital Apia, and the other in Savai'i, signalled the start of the new year. The displays were synchronized by New Zealand pyrotechnic experts and fired simultaneously from both islands at the stroke of midnight.

The Chatham Islands, part of New Zealand's territory, were first in the country to ring in the year. The islands, about 800 kilometres east of New Zealand's South Island, are home to some 700 people.

Initially, people in Kiritimati rang in 2024 with fireworks and parties in the South Pacific, among the first in the world to do so.

Kiritimati, the largest island of the Pacific island state of Kiribati, is home to about 5,000 people and the first inhabited island to begin each new year.

Later, people in Asia are set to enjoy massive light shows, including in Singapore, where onlookers plan to watch firework displays at Marina Bay, with a view of the skyline.

In Bangkok, celebrations centre on the Chao Phraya River which reflects the lights of the fireworks display each year. Often, Thais head onto party boats to enjoy the spectacular show up close, and mark the turn of the year. Thailand, which follows the Buddhist calendar, is welcoming the year 2567.

There will though be little to cheer in Israel and the Gaza Strip or Ukraine, where conflicts continue unabated.

Western Europe will follow, with police in Berlin fearing riots like last year as people get overexcited. Injuries have already been reported hours before 2024 begins in Germany, where there is a tradition of sending up fireworks in small groups from the street.

Around 4,500 police officers from the capital and other states will be on duty in Berlin.

The Americas wrap up the festivities, with a big turn-out expected in New York's Times Square. Police there are on alert in case of terrorist attacks linked to Israel's war in Gaza.

American Samoa, 220 kilometres to the east of Samoa on the other side of the International Date Line, will be the last to ring in 2024.

Photo: X