New Year’s Eve: Japan and South Korea ring in new year as first Asian nations join Australia and New Zealand in 2026 – live updates

Hong Kong will ring in 2026 without fireworks over Victoria Harbour after a massive fire in November killed at least 161 people.

The city’s tourism board will instead host a music show on Wednesday night featuring soft rock duo Air Supply and other singers in Central, a business district that also is home to the famous nightlife hub Lan Kwai Fong.

The facades of eight landmarks will turn into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight.

Fireworks have long been part of the city’s celebrations for the new year.

Hong Kong will officially enter 2026 at 4pm UK time

Beijing will be among the cities and nations next to enter 2026.

The Chinese capital will enter the new year along with Hong Kong, Singapore and Manila – capital of the Philippines.

During his New Year’s Eve address, Chinese President Xi Jinping said ‘reunification is unstoppable’ after Beijing announced the end of live-fire drills around Taiwan.

Japan and South Korea have now entered 2026 with celebrations taking place across both countries

Earlier we reported how crowds had gathered Tokyo’s Zojo-ji temple – a Buddhist place of worship – for a traditional bell-ringing ceremony.

While people were pictured enjoying the lights and taking selfies in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square earlier on.

Cities across Indonesia have scaled back New Year’s Eve festivities as a mark of respect to communities devastated by floods and landslides that struck parts of Sumatra island a month ago, claiming more than 1,100 lives.

The capital, Jakarta, is not ringing in 2026 with its usual fanfare, choosing subdued celebrations with a program centered on prayers for victims, city officials said last week.

Concerts and fireworks in Bali have been cancelled and replaced with a cultural arts event featuring traditional dances (pictured below).

Vladimir Putin donned heavy make-up as he vowed victory in the war with Ukraine in his New Year message.

As 2026 arrived in the extreme east of Russia, his message was angled to his troops – as he defied efforts to find peace with Kyiv.

The Russian President said: ‘I congratulate all our soldiers and commanders on the upcoming New Year!

‘We believe in you and our victory.’

He was speaking less than two weeks before his war in Ukraine will have lasted longer than the 1,418 days Josef Stalin led the Soviet Union in the Second World War in Europe between 1941-45.

These pictures shows crowds are gathering at Tokyo’s Zojo-ji temple – a Buddhist place of worship – for a traditional Japanese ceremony on New Year’s Eve.

Known as Joya no kane, the custom sees temple bells rung by monks 108 times to mark the cleansing of worldly desires.

In just under an hour’s time, the first countries in Asia including Japan and South Korea will celebrate the new year.

Revellers have been pictured enjoying the lights and taking selfies in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square earlier today.

The East Asian nations will reach midnight at 3pm UK time.

Sydney started 2026 with a spectacular fireworks display held under an enhanced ‌police presence, weeks after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city.

Sydney’s annual New Year’s Eve celebrations are known globally for their spectacular fireworks, with 40,000 pyrotechnic effects stretching seven ​km (four miles) across buildings and barges along its harbour, including ​the city’s iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera ​House.

Organisers held a minute’s silence for the victims of the attack at 11:00pm local time (12:00pm GMT), with ⁠the Harbour Bridge lit up in white and a menorah – a symbol ​long used to symbolise Judaism – projected ‍onto its pylons.

Traditional Christmas celebrations at Bondi were muted this year, and several New Year events planned there were cancelled.

Around ⁠3,000 police, some carrying long arms, were deployed in the city during the main New Year celebrations, that typically attract over a million revellers.

These were the scenes in Sydney as the city welcomed 2026 with a bang following another awesome fireworks display.

At midnight local time, a massive pyrotechnics display covered the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

It means four Australian states; New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory have officially entered the new year.

South Australia will follow half an hour later while Queensland and the Northern Territory celebrate an hour after Sydney.

Western Australians have the longest wait to 2026, three hours behind NSW.

Sydney and Melbourne are among the Australian cities who have officially entered 2026.

Known for its spectacular fireworks display above Sydney Harbour Bridge, the city paid tribute to victims of the Bondi Beach terror attack – the worst in Australia’s history – earlier this month.

More than a million people gathered in Sydney for the city’s famous midnight firework display in what was billed as a show of unity and defiance.

While people in the southern hemisphere can enjoy New Year’s Eve celebrations in warmer climes, spare a thought for those in the northern half.

In France, sea swimmers have visited a popular nudist beach in Cap d’Agde, a seaside resort on the country’s Mediterranean coast, for a bracing dip in the sea.

The unique local tradition known as Dernier Bain de l’Année or, Last Bath of the Year, is one of the main daytime events in Cap d’Agde before the evening celebrations.