DUBAI: New Year's Eve fireworks light the landmark Burj Khalifa tower at midnight.

The world’s eight billion people ushered in 2023, bidding farewell to a turbulent year marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises, Lionel Messi’s World Cup glory and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict. Many set aside pinched budgets and a virus that is increasingly forgotten, but not gone, to embrace a party atmosphere on New Year’s Eve after three pandemic-dampened years.

HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah exchanged cables of congratulations with leaders of Arab and friendly states on the New Year. HH the Amir expressed his wishes that the world may witness security, peace, stability and prosperity. The Middle East welcomed 2023 with a fireworks show from the world’s tallest building, the 830-m Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Laser lights added to the spectacle at the landmark, which carried messages including “hugging again”, an apparent reference to the end of COVID restrictions. Fireworks also lit up the skies in Kuwait as people welcomed the New Year.

NEW YORK: Onlookers watch as confetti fills the air to mark the beginning of the New Year in Times Square.

In New York, confetti rained down after the famous ball drop in Times Square, a tradition that dates back to 1907, with visitors from across the world waiting hours in the chilly rain to take part. Throngs of people also packed Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach, where up to two million were expected for music and fireworks without the coronavirus safety measures of the past few years.

PARIS: Fireworks explode next to the Arc de Triomphe at the Avenue des Champs-Elysees during New Year celebrations.

Across the Atlantic, Parisians crowded shoulder-to-shoulder for fireworks along the Champs-Elysees in numbers comparable to 2018 and 2019, officials said. Sydney became one of the first major cities to ring in 2023 after two years of lockdowns and coronavirus-muted festivities, staging a fireworks display over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Hours later, London also welcomed crowds to its official fireworks display for the first time since before the pandemic.  — AFP