End of year celebrations: Sydney, Tokyo … the world celebrates the New Year

In France, the transition to the New Year will be in a few hours. But elsewhere in the world some countries are already in 2021 ! With the time difference, we can therefore observe in pictures how the transition to January 1st unfolds.

At noon French time, the Samoa Islands, Fiji and New Zealand were the first to put an end to this difficult year 2020. In Auckland, large crowds gathered to witness a fireworks display.

Sydney, Australia’s largest city, celebrated the New Year just two hours later. Fireworks were fired over the Bay, but in the almost total absence of spectators after the appearance of a recent source of contamination in the north of the city which totals some 150 cases.

Elsewhere in the world, few countries will be able to celebrate the New Year with great fanfare, because of the Covid-19 epidemic. From France to Latvia via Brazil, police and, in some cases, soldiers will be deployed to ensure compliance with curfews or bans on gatherings.