Crowds will marvel at fireworks and toast champagne on Tuesday to welcome 2025, bidding farewell to a year that brought Olympic glory, the dramatic return of Donald Trump and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine.
It is all but certain that 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, with climate-fueled disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley.
As the New Year’s Eve parties got underway along Australia’s picturesque Sydney Harbor on Tuesday afternoon, many were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.
“It would be good for the world if it all fixed itself, separated itself,” said Stewart Edwards, 32, an insurance worker. AFP.
The self-proclaimed “New Year’s Capital of the World” will shoot off nine tonnes of fireworks from its iconic Opera House and Harbor Bridge at midnight.
“Just enjoying seeing all the beautiful colors and being in this situation with so many people in wonderful Australia,” said retired nurse Ruth Rouse, 71.
Taylor Swift took the wraps off her Eras tour this year, pygmy hippo Mo Deng went viral and soccer teenager Lamine Yamal helped Spain win the Euros.
The Paris Olympics united the world for a few weeks in July and August.
Athletes swam in the Seine, ran in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and rode horses on the manicured lawns outside the Palace of Versailles.
Upheaval in the election
It was a global year of elections, with millions of people in more than 60 countries participating in the elections.
Vladimir Putin prevailed in a Russian vote widely dismissed as rigged, while a student uprising in Bangladesh ousted the incumbent prime minister.
However, none of the votes have been as closely watched as the Nov. 5 contest that will soon see Trump back in the White House.
From Mexico to the Middle East, his return as commander-in-chief is already in waves.
The president-elect has threatened to heap economic pain on China and boasted of his ability to stop the war in Ukraine within “24 hours”.
Hope and panic
It has been three years since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Perched on its eastern flank, Ukraine must now contend with a Trump administration that appears intent on withdrawing significant military aid.
On the streets of Kiev, teacher Kateryna Chamrez wanted “finally peace for Ukraine”.
Homecoming, football, festivals
With AI advancements on the horizon and rapid inflation slowing, 2025 has a lot to look forward to.
Brit-pop bad boys Oasis will make a long-awaited reunion, while K-pop megastars BTS will return to the stage after military service in South Korea.
Soccer fans will be treated to a 32-team Club World Cup hosted by the United States.
And some 400 million pilgrims are expected at the magnificent Kumbh Mela festival on the banks of India’s sacred river – said to be the largest gathering of humanity on the planet.
The UK’s weather service has already predicted a sharp rise in global temperatures for 2025, suggesting it will be one of the warmest years on record.
Meanwhile, in cold northern Japan, heavy snowfall means some passengers at Hokkaido’s main airport may see 2025 in the departure lounge.
“It was great to see the snow, but I didn’t think I’d be stuck here,” one man told a local broadcaster. HTB As flights were cancelled.
“I might have to stay at the airport tonight.”
With electric vehicle sales on the rise and renewable energy on the rise, there’s a sliver of hope that the glacial progress on climate change could finally take hold in 2025.