EVERY New Year’s Eve, celebrations kick off around the globe as people celebrate the 365 days that have just passed and look towards the ones that are to come.
These celebrations begin at various times due to the different time zones across the world – but who are the first and last people to see the New Year in?
Australis is one of the first countries in the world to celebrate the New Year (Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)
Which country celebrates New Year first?
Due to the different time zones across the globe, many countries celebrate the beginning of a New Year at different times.
Most Brits look to Australia as the first country to see in the New Year but, while it is one of the first to celebrate, there are a few places that beat it to the punch.
Kiritimati Island – also known as Christmas Island – and a string of 10 other mostly uninhabited islands in the central Pacific Ocean will have been the first to ring in 2024.
People living on Kiritimati Island, which lies directly south of Hawaii, will have rung in the New Year while at 10am GMT on December 31, nearly a full day earlier than in the UK.
At 11am GMT the tiny Pacific island of Tonga headed into a fresh year, along with New Zealand and Samoa.
Midnight hit in Eastern Australia at 1pm GMT, with Central Australia not far behind at 2pm UK time.
Brits will, of course, celebrate the New Year at the stroke of midnight GMT.
Where will the New Year arrive last?
Unfortunately, there always has to be someone who has to wait the longest to kick off their New Year celebration.
The last place to ring in 2024 will be Baker Island and Howland Island, where midnight, December 31, doesn’t arrive until at 12pm GMT on January 1.
Baker Island and Howland Island, both located southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, are uninhabited islands, so there won’t be anybody patiently waiting to set off their party poppers or champagne corks see the New Year in.
East Coast areas of the US, however, like New York and Washington D.C. will have to wait until 5am GMT to celebrate the arrival of 2024.
What time does New Year arrive around the world?
No matter what time 2024 arrives, countries all over the world will usher in the New Year with various traditions and celebrations.
In London, the chimes of Big Ben count down from ten to one before the explosion of fireworks and celebrations marks the beginning of a new year.
Many people choose to spend the celebratory evening with family or friends, and sing a rendition of Robert Burns’ poem Auld Lang Syne to mark the occasion.
Using Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), this is when various places across the world will welcome 2024:
December 31
10 am – Samoa and Christmas Island/Kiribati
11 am – New Zealand
12 pm – Fiji and Eastern Russia
1 pm – Eastern Australia (Melbourne and Sydney)
2 pm – Central Australia (Brisbane, Darwin and Adelaide)
3 pm – Japan, South Korea and North Korea
3:15 pm – Western Australia (Perth and Eucla)
4 pm – China, Philippines, Singapore
5 pm – Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia
5:30 pm – Myanmar and Cocos Islands
6 pm – Bangladesh
6:15 pm – Nepal
6:30 pm – India and Sri Lanka
7 pm – Pakistan
8 pm – Azerbaijan
8.30 pm – Iran
9 pm – Turkey, Iraq, Kenya and Western Russia
10 pm – Greece, Romania, South Africa, Hungary, and eastern European cities
11 pm – Germany, France, Italy, Algeria, Belgium, Spain
Midnight – UK, Ireland, Ghana, Iceland, Portugal
January 1
1 am – Cape Verde and the Spanish Isles
2 am – Eastern Brazil, South Georgia and Sandwich Islands
3 am – Argentina, remaining regions in Brazil, Chile, Paraguay
3:30 am – Newfoundland and Labrador/Canada
4 am – Eastern Canada, Bolivia, Puerto Rico
5 am – Eastern Standard Time in the US – New York, Washington, Detroit and Cuba
6 am – Central Standard Time in the US – Chicago
7 am – Mountain Standard Time in the US – Colorado, Arizona
8 am – Pacific Standard Time in the US – LA, Nevada
9 am – Alaska and French Polynesia
10 am – Hawaii, Tahiti and Cook Island
11 am – American Samoa
12 pm – Baker Island, Howland Island
