Celebrating the New Year across the Globe
Experience the global spectacle of New Year's as it sweeps across the globe, with celebrations starting in far-flung corners before reaching iconic destinations like New York City's Times Square on December 31, 2023, and continuing into the vibrant first moments of January 1, 2024
As the ball drops in New York City's Times Square to mark the beginning of 2024, many countries around the world have already rung in the new year. Christmas Island in Kiribati, an island nation in the central Pacific Ocean, was the first to celebrate, popping champagne at 5 a.m. on December 31 in the Eastern United States and 11 a.m. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).
Chatham Islands in New Zealand welcomed the new year at 5:15 a.m. ET, followed by most of New Zealand at 6 a.m., as well as Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribatis Phoenix Islands, and some regions of Antarctica.
On the other side of the international date line, Hawaii, American Samoa, and many of the US outlying islands will be among the last places to celebrate the new year, waiting until Monday morning (Eastern Time) to toast 2024.
People gather around the 2024 New Year's Eve numerals displayed in Times Square, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Yuki Iwamura/AP
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There are 39 different local time zones currently in use around the world, with some varying by 15 or 30 minutes compared to nearby zones. Additionally, there are two time zones that are more than 12 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), resulting in a 26-hour gap for the entire world to celebrate the New Year. So, if you're a fan of singing "Auld Lang Syne," the following list will keep you in the festive mood as the day approaches.
Heres when places around the world will be ringing in the New Year, relative to East Coast time.
Sunday, December 31, 2023
5 a.m. ETÂ Christmas Island, part of the island nation of Kiribati
5:15 a.m. ET Chatham Islands, off the eastern coast of New Zealand
At 6 a.m. ET, most of New Zealand (with a few exceptions), as well as Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati's Phoenix Islands, and some regions of Antarctica, observe the time. Additionally, at 7 a.m. ET, Fiji, a small part of eastern Russia, and several other Pacific islands, including the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, also follow this time.
At 8 a.m. ET, numerous locations in Australia, including Melbourne and Sydney, as well as Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia were included in the areas affected.
Fireworks light up the sky over the Sydney Harbour Bridge during New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31, 2022 in Sydney, Australia.
Roni Bintang/Getty Images
8:30 a.m. ET - South Australia, including Adelaide
9 a.m. ET - Queensland, Australia and six additional locations, including sections of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, a portion of Antarctica, and Guam
9:30 a.m. ETÂ Australias Northern Territory
10 a.m. ETÂ Japan, South Korea, a small part of Russia, North Korea, a small part of Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Palau
10:15 a.m. ET - Western Australia
11 a.m. ET - China, Philippines, Malaysia, parts of Indonesia, most of Mongolia, Taiwan, Brunei, Russia's Irkutsk region, some parts of Antarctica, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Macao.
Noon ET Much of Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, some parts of Russia, some parts of Mongolia, a small region of Antarctica, and Australias Christmas Island
Fireworks explode over buildings during New Year's celebrations on January 01, 2023 in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
12:30 p.m. ET - Myanmar and the Cocos Islands, which is an Australian territory
1 p.m. ET - Bangladesh, parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the city of Omsk in Russia, and a small part of Antarctica
1:15 p.m. ET Nepal
1:30 p.m. ET India and Sri Lanka
At 2 p.m. ET, it is currently afternoon in Pakistan, some parts of Russia, much of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the Maldives, Tajikistan, French Southern territories, Frances Kerguelen islands, and a small region of Antarctica. At 2:30 p.m. ET, it is afternoon in Afghanistan.
3 p.m. ET Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Armenia, a small region of Russia, Oman, much of Georgia, Frances Réunion Island, Mauritius, and the Seychelles
3:30 p.m. ETÂ Iran
4 p.m. ET: This time slot is suitable for Moscow in Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya, as well as 17 other locations.
5 p.m. ET: This time slot is suitable for Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Rwanda, Romania, and 26 other locations.
Fireworks light up the London skyline over Big Ben and the London Eye just after midnight on January 1, 2023 in London, England.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
6 p.m. ET Germany, Nigeria, Algeria, Italy, Belgium, Morocco, Albania, France and 38 other locations
7 p.m. ET United Kingdom, Portugal, Iceland, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and 18 other locations
8 p.m. ET Cabo Verde, Azores in Portugal, and a small region of Greenland
At 9 p.m. ET, the majority of Greenland, the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, and the South Georgia/Sandwich Islands. At 10 p.m. ET, the majority of Brazil, Argentina, Chile (with some exceptions), Uruguay, parts of Antarctica, Paraguay, French Guiana, Suriname, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the Falkland Islands.
10:30 p.m. ET Canadas Newfoundland and Labrador province
11 p.m. ET Some regions of Canada, Venezuela, Bolivia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, Guyana, and 23 other locations
People bring in the New Year as they watch fireworks explode over Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023.
Bruna Prado/AP
Monday, January 1, 2024
At midnight, people on the East Coast of the USA, including New York City, Washington, D.C., and Detroit, as well as parts of Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba, Acre in Brazil, Panama, a small part of Mexico, Haiti, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, a small region of Chile, and the Cayman Islands are transitioning into the next hour.
At 1 a.m. ET, Central USA, including Chicago, and much of Mexico, including Mexico City, as well as parts of Canada, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and a small part of Ecuador, are starting a new hour.
2 a.m. ET US (Mountain time zone, including Denver and Phoenix), as well as parts of Canada (such as Edmonton and Calgary) and Mexico.
3 a.m. ET US (Pacific time zone, including Los Angeles and San Francisco), along with British Columbia in Canada, Baja California in Mexico, Pitcairn Islands, and Clipperton Island.
A reveller wearing New Year glasses smiles under the rain during the New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022, in New York.
Andres Kudacki/AP
4 a.m. ET Alaska in the US and regions of French Polynesia
4:30 a.m. ET Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia
5 a.m. ET Hawaii in the US, Tahiti in French Polynesia, and the Cook Islands
At 6 a.m. ET, American Samoa, some parts of the US minor outlying islands (like the Midway Atoll), and Niue, an island nation in the South Pacific, observe the time.
Then at 7 a.m. ET, much of the US minor outlying islands (unincorporated US territories in the Pacific), including Baker Island and Howland Island, follow suit.
