Happy New Year 2024: Know Countries To Welcome New Year First and Last

As the clock strikes midnight in various parts of the world, people everywhere bid farewell to the past to enter a new year with hope, anticipation, and celebrations. The advent of a new year is often marked by joyous gatherings, fireworks, parties, and reflections on the past and aspirations for the future. Interestingly, many countries will welcome the new year minutes before other regions around the world due to different time zones.

Kiritimati, a part of the Pacific nation, will be the first one to step in 2024. Kiribati consists of 33 atolls, pronounced as Kiribass, spread across a vast expanse in the equatorial Pacific.

They cover an area of nearly 4,000 kilometers from east to west and over 2,000 kilometers from north to south. Kiritimati Island welcomed the New Year at 10:00 am GMT (3:30 pm IST), a day ahead of New York City.

Following Kiribati, New Zealand ushered in 2024 at 11:00 GMT.
Australia, Japan, and South Korea are the countries that welcomed the New Year, with each nation experiencing it an hour after the previous one.

People around the world are ready to welcome the year. Large gatherings are forming in Sydney, Australia, in anticipation of one of the most spectacular New Year's fireworks displays in the world. A tourist who is visiting Sydney said "It's been on my bucket list for the last ten years so I'm excited for the fireworks."

"It's iconic because it's the first fireworks in the world and it's the first celebration of the New Year so it's nice. And it's cool because you have the spot really near and this is amazing, this is amazing," Christopher Maldonado, a tourist from Chile, said while expressing his joy and excitement.