- Revellers in New Zealand have already hailed the start of 2014, dancing in the streets of Auckland and Queenstown
- Dubai is planning the world's biggest ever fireworks show with Guinness World Record judges on hand
- More than one million people pack Sydney harbour to watch the spectacular fireworks display burst into the sky
- Bright rockets flew from the four sails of the city's iconic Opera House for the first time in more than a decade
- More than 260 people injured as firecrackers are set off in the Philippines during the countdown to midnight
The biggest party in the world is underway with bright fireworks bursting into skies across the globe as midnight strikes and nations hail the start of 2014.
Exploding fireworks sprayed from Sydney's iconic opera house and harbor bridge as the world began ushering in a new year.
More than one million people crammed the Sydney Harbor foreshore on a warm summer night to watch Sydney's renowned annual pyrotechnics show, which appeared to live up to its billing as the city's most extravagant.
And for the first time in more than a decade fireworks launched from four sails of the Sydney Opera House.
More than one million people packed the water and shoreline of Sydney's harbour to watch the annual fireworks spectacular
The Opera House is lit up by the stunning fountains of fireworks streaming off the harbour bridge. This year's display is the most extravagant ever, organisers have said
The view over Sydney Harbour from Mrs Macquarie's chair as midnight strikes and the crowds hail the New Year
Fireworks launched from the four sails of Sydney's iconic Opera House for the first time in more than a decade
Sydney hailed in the New Year in stunning style, with the traditional harbour fireworks display
Three hours after midnight struck in Sydney, Hong Kong celebrated the start of 2014 with its very own fireworks display
The bright lights of the city's skyline merged with the colourful spray of fire across the harbour
With fireworks erupting from the water and bursting high in the skies, Hong Kong's harbour was showered in sprays of red and white
Tourists and locals dance to celebrate the New Year in Queenstown, New Zealand
New Zealand is among the first nations to see in the New Year
As midnight struck in New Zealand a fireworks display erupted over the city as thousands danced in the streets below
A bright spray of fireworks erupted from the water at the same time as rockets burst above the city creating a stunning spectacle of red and white light.
Closer to the edge of the International Dateline, New Zealand bid farewell to 2013 two hours before Sydney with fireworks erupting from Auckland's Sky Tower as cheering revelers danced in the streets of the South Pacific island nation's largest city.
In the Philippines, more than 260 people were injured by firecracker blasts and celebratory gunfire ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations, one of Asia's most violent revelries.
Department of Health spokesman Dr Eric Tayag said he expected the number of injuries to rise sharply when Filipinos ignite powerful firecrackers to end a year marked by tragic disasters, including a typhoon on November 8, that left more than 6,100 dead and nearly 1,800 others missing.
'Many here are welcoming the new year after losing their mothers, fathers, siblings and children so you can imagine how it feels,' said village chief Maria Rosario Bactol of Anibong community in Tacloban, the city worst hit by Typhoon Haiyan.
'I tell them to face the reality, to move on and stand up but I know it will never be easy.'
Young Chinese students at a middle school in Hanshan county, Anhui province, line up to form 'Happy 2014' to celebrate the New Year
Sportsmen in Allahabad, India light candles to celebrate New Year's Eve at Madan Mohan Malviya Stadium
A Buddhist woman attaches her name card on a lantern ahead of the New Year at Chogye Buddhist temple in Seoul, South Korea
Midnight strikes in South Korea as thousands celebrating with the 'moon house' burning and fireworks during the 21st Sungsan sunrise festival of New Year in Sungsan, on Jeju island
South Koreans gaze up at the bright display above their heads as they hail the start of 2014 on Jeju island
Fireworks explode near Malaysia's landmark, the Petronas Twin Towers, during New Year celebrations in Kuala Lumpur
An anti-Thai government protester waves national flag as dancers perform on stage during a New Year's Eve rally at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand
Gearing up for the New Year, students in China use light pens to welcome 2014
Organizers plan to light up the city's coastline with a flying falcon made out of fireworks that moves across a massive man-made palm-shaped island alongside a countdown in fireworks.
Organisers say they will also create a burst of light out of fireworks to imitate a sunrise and dazzle spectators with a United Arab Emirates flag that could also break records for being the largest ever made out of fireworks.
The six-minute extravaganza will include 500,000 fireworks from 400 firing locations, all synchronized by 100 computers from stations across the city, said Barrett Wissman, co-chairman of IMG Artists that is managing the event. Guinness World Record officials will be on hand to measure the scale of the event.
Wissman said the display will cover 30 miles (48 kilometers) of seafront. 'It is really mind-blowing, the size of this,' he said.
Midnight strikes in Melbourne as the city welcomes in the New Year
Thousands packed the streets in Melbourne to celebrate the start of the New Year underneath a veil of fireworks
Fireworks light up the skyline over Sydney Harbour during the 9pm family fireworks session during New Years Eve celebrations
Chinese residents in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, China use light pens to draw 2014 to welcome in the New Year
Actors dressed as the Russian Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), right, and his companion Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), left, take part a New Year parade in the Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek
Musicians wearing Christmas costumes take part in the New Year parade in Bishkek. New Year, which was the biggest informal holiday of the year in the former Soviet Union, is also very popular in the predominantly Muslim Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan
In Beijing, one flower shop manager said he hoped the new year brought more customers.
'Since the government started its campaign to crack down on luxury spending and promote frugality, our business with government agencies has been in decline,' said Mao Xiangfei. 'In the past, government clients accounted for about 10 percent of our business, but now it's zero.'
But in one polluted Chinese city, the celebrations were slated to be quieter as authorities in Wuhan in central Hubei province called off their annual New Year fireworks show and banned fireworks downtown to avoid making the smoggy air worse.
Shinto priests walk toward the main hall to hold a shinto ritual in preparation for the New Year at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan. It is expected that around three million people will visit the shrine to pray for their health, happiness and property during the first days of 2014
Shinto priests walk under a 'torii' (Japanese gate located at the entrance of a Shinto shrine) after they participated to a shinto ritual in preparation for the New Year at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan
Japanese are hopeful about the economy for the first time in years after some signs of revival under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose easing lending policies and pump-priming measures have been dubbed 'Abenomics.'
Among those upbeat about what the new year might bring is Junya Sakata, a 23-year-old Tokyo waiter looking forward to taking sommelier classes next year so he can move up in his career.
'I hope the economy will keep improving, building up to the 2020 Olympics,' he said, which will be held in Tokyo. 'So many things happened this year, but I was able to grow. Maybe next year I will find a girlfriend.'
The 9.30pm New Year's Eve fireworks at Yarra Park beside the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Thousands of people gathered on Princes Bridge in Melbourne waiting for midnight to strike
'There were a lot of people out on the streets today for an outdoor dance event, and cars filled the streets,' Ms Lee said.
In Hong Kong, tens of thousands will turn out to watch the fireworks display over the southern Chinese city's famed Victoria Harbor.
Pyrotechnics will be fired off near the Kowloon peninsula and from the tops of seven skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island. A British colonial-era canon will be fired at midnight in a tradition dating from the end of World War II.
In Indonesia, New Year's celebrations are widespread except in the city of Banda Aceh where Islamic clerics prohibit Muslims from celebrating New Year's Eve.
In the capital, Jakarta, Governor Joko Widodo will lead a festival featuring concerts, parades, a marching band and fireworks.
Meanwhile in London Ian Guy and Alice Summerill from Bristol arrive early to get a prime spot to watch the Southbank fireworks show illuminate the capital as midnight strikes in the UK
Dozens of Portaloos are moved into position close to Parliament as hundreds of thousands of people are expected to flock to London today
Barriers have been erected around the fountains in Trafalgar Square to try and stop revellers jumping in the water amid the excitement as the clock strikes 12am
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