New Zealand and Australia usher in 2016
Gigantic crowds watch firework displays in Auckland and Sydney
Thousands gathered in Auckland to watch an impressive New Year's fireworks show
Thousands of people have gathered in Auckland to celebrate the new year in New Zealand, one of the first countries in the world to welcome in 2016.
Around 25,000 people gathered around the Sky Tower in in the heart of New Zealand’s capital for an impressive fireworks display, reported to be the largest in Auckland’s history.
In Australia, fireworks lit up Sydney harbour at midnight, enthralling an audience projected to be over one million in number.
Crowds thronged to vantage points to view the pyrotechnic displays centred on its famous harbour in a show that is expected to draw close to a million people.
Samoa and Kiribati were the first countries to usher in 2016, and the chimes of midnight will now move across Australasia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and finally the Americas.
