New year welcomed in with a bang
Thousands took to streets at the turn of midnight to welcome in the new year with spectacular fireworks displays across the UK, and the rest of the world.
Big Ben chimes heralded the start of 2012 in London. Crowds gathered along the River Thames to watch the 12,000 fireworks that lit up the river and the sky behind the London Eye.
In a first for London’s new year celebration, the fireworks coincided with each strike of the bell from Big Ben.
This years’ 11 minute display had an Olympic theme, with fireworks marking out the shape and colours of the Olympic rings.
London’s skyline was also scattered with lights from flying paper lanterns, sent off into the sky by people celebrating at home.
Around 80,000 people celebrated Hogmanay at Edinburgh’s street party. Over 2,800 fireworks lit up the sky around the city’s castle and over 20 acts performed live music across the city.
Free live music was put on at the Civic Centre in Cardiff, but Belfast did not hold an outdoor concert this year.
Samoa was one of the first places to welcome in 2012, just days after they jumped forward a day across the international dateline.
In Sydney, an estimated million-strong crowd watched the firework display around Sydney Harbour Bridge, which had a theme – ‘Time to Dream’ – and was accompanied by pop songs and sounds of wild animals, as designed by producer Aneurin Coffey.
