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Auck­land was the first ma­jor city to ring in 2026 with a fire­works dis­play launched from New Zealand’s tallest struc­ture, Sky Tow­er, fol­lowed by a de­fi­ant cel­e­bra­tion in Aus­tralia in the af­ter­math of its worst mass shoot­ing.

South Pa­cif­ic coun­tries were the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks stuck mid­night in Auck­land 18 hours be­fore the fa­mous ball drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute dis­play in­volved 3,500 fire­works.

De­fi­ant cel­e­bra­tion in Aus­tralia af­ter worst mass shoot­ing