Overview
- Kiritimati in Kiribati was the first place to ring in 2026, followed by New Zealand and then Australia.
- Sydney advanced its fireworks to an earlier hour to let families with children attend before local midnight.
- Festivities are now unfolding across Asia, from major Chinese cities to the ice festival in Harbin.
- A 1995 eastward shift of the International Date Line, which brought Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga to the same side, shapes which islands celebrate first or last.
- American Samoa is scheduled to be the final territory to welcome the new year.