From New Zealand to Hong Kong: World welcomes 2023 with fireworks and light shows

People across the world turned a new chapter of their lives as they bid farewell to the year 2022 and welcomed a new year on Sunday (January 1) with celebrations in different parts including Auckland, Sydney, Hong Kong, and others.

With aspirations and expectations, the world's eight billion people look forward to the year 2023. They said goodbye to the chaotic 12 months, which were marred by several crises, including the Ukraine war, and other conflicts.

2022 was bittersweet and will be remembered for a lot of reasons like the Russia-Ukraine war, the cost of living crisis, the Covid pandemic etc. The past year will also be remembered for the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict. There were some happy moments as well, such as Argentina's World Cup win.

New year celebrations started in New Zealand as people marked the arrival of 2023 with a fireworks display in Auckland. The fireworks show from Auckland's 328- metre-tall Sky Tower returned after last year's cancellation due to concerns over the coronavirus Omicron variant.