CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – With fireworks, dancing and late-night revelry millions around the globe welcomed 2014 today, gathering for huge displays of jubilation and unity as the new year was arriving across the world’s 24 main time zones.
In Australia, fireworks sprayed from the sails of the Sydney Opera House and the city’s harbour bridge at midnight. Revellers in Dubai awaited what was supposed to be the world’s largest fireworks show.
In Ukraine, anti-government protesters hoped to set their own record for the most people to sing a national anthem at the same time.
Closer to the edge of the International Dateline, New Zealand bid farewell to 2013 with fireworks erupting from Auckland’s Sky Tower as cheering crowds danced in the streets of the South Pacific island nation’s largest city.
Known for glitz, glamour and over-the-top achievements like the world’s tallest tower, Dubai hoped to break another record by creating the largest fireworks show ever.
Organizers planned to light up the city’s coastline with a flying falcon made out of fireworks that would move across a massive man-made palm-shaped island alongside a countdown in fireworks.
Organizers say they will also create a burst of light out of fireworks to imitate a sunrise and dazzle spectators with a United Arab Emirates flag that could also break records for being the largest ever made of fireworks.
The six-minute extravaganza will include 500 000 fireworks from 400 firing locations, all synchronized by 100 computers from stations across the city, said Barrett Wissman, co-chairman of IMG Artists that is managing the event. Guinness World Record officials will be on hand to measure the scale of the event.
