New year welcomed with dazzling fireworks displays

Australians have bid farewell to 2024, ringing in the new year with one "world-famous" fireworks display and many others not so famous. More than a million people rushed to the shores of the Sydney Harbour and hundreds of thousands more to the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne to watch the midnight displays. Those who snagged a harbour view earned a stunning front-row display as fireworks dazzled the harbour from both the east and west sides of the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time. Composer Luna Pam debuted her 12-minute underwater-themed fireworks soundtrack at midnight, which rang out alongside skyward explosions and AI projections. Early displays for families and sleepy revellers kicked off celebrations in Sydney and Melbourne. Roman and Monica Gezernek from Germany had waited for hours for their first Sydney pyrotechnics. "They're world famous apparently so we have to see them," Mr Gezernek told AAP before the first show. The pair will fly out to New Zealand on New Year's Day to continue the trip of a lifetime. "We're pensioners so we're just taking our time around the world," Mr Gezernek said. The pair had claimed their spot at one of the harbour's many vantage points, most of which were at capacity by mid-afternoon, while pleasure craft crammed where they were allowed on the water. As a kid Meg Brown would watch in awe from her English home at TV coverage of Sydney's fireworks. The images beamed from the other side of the world seemed "magical" to Ms Brown, who vowed one day to visit the harbour city. At 28, Ms Brown finally realised her dream, perched at a Balmain vantage point with friends. "It is a bit of a bucket list thing for me," Ms Brown told AAP. "At home the Sydney fireworks is always all over the news, it is one of the first places that brings in the New Year." David from Argentina was another lucky spectator, snagging a spot at The Rocks. Attending the fireworks show for the first time after arriving in Australia in June, he and his friends were excited to see what all the fuss is about. "We'd heard about it so we thought we'd come out," he said. "But I'm not partying too hard tonight, I have to work in the morning." By night's end nine tonnes of fireworks had been launched from barges to the bridge to the top of the Opera House's sails, featuring 80 new firing locations. Glittering technicolour fireworks across 27 Melbourne rooftops aided by a laser light show marked a new beginning for an estimated 500,000-plus revellers as they packed into every vantage point available across the city. For Domenic Adami, it was the first time in a few years he'd ventured to the city for New Year's Eve festivities. But he and his friends arrived early to snag a spot near the Yarra where they set up a picnic while settling in for the midnight show. "I heard, this year, they're going to be bigger than Sydney, but usually they're pretty good," Mr Adami told AAP. "Even when I sit and watch it at home or from somewhere else on TV, it looks amazing. "Each year has just gotten better and better, and this year seems like it's going to be the best." While Sydney's displays may be the highlight, there's no shortage of fireworks to usher in 2025 across the rest of the nation. About 80,000 individual fireworks were due to explode across Brisbane's skyline with more up and down the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. In Adelaide, fireworks, food trucks and live music are on offer with more than 400,000 people expected to visit the city on New Year's Eve. Perth is set to feature two explosive displays while Launceston combined fireworks with its annual BeerFest.