Australians have ushered in the new year, with thousands enjoying firework displays in capital cities to ring in 2025. 

Tap or click below to see what happened throughout the evening: 

New South Wales

Just how long would you queue up for a view of the fireworks?

In Sydney, thousands waited outside designated viewing points from 5am for a spot to watch the fireworks at Sydney Harbour.

Once gates opened, people jostled for the best place to sit down for more than 12 hours ahead of the big show at midnight. 

And it didn’t disappoint, with a spectacular display to ring in the new year. 

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At Blues Point Reserve, New Year’s Eve revellers queued up for more than a kilometre to snag a prized spot.

The harbourside park offered uninterrupted views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, making it a much sought-after vantage point.

Security teams checked bags and ushered small groups inside before the area was declared full by 11am.

At Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, attendees slept, played cards and read books to pass the time before the New Year’s Eve show began.

Thousands were estimated to have watched the fireworks from the base of the Royal Botanic Garden, where many were waiting since 6am to stake their claim on the best patch of grass in the city.

They included revellers from Brazil, India, Argentina and the UK who were spared the worst of the Australian summer, with a comfortable 27C.

Rajan Jarabi was holidaying from India and looked forward to welcoming the New Year in Sydney from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.

To get to the spot, he woke up at 3:30am, took a 4:45am train and arrived at 6am.

“It is one of the most sought-after fireworks,” Mr Jarabi said.

“I had plans to come here for a long time.”

In northern NSW, 2,000 people celebrated 2025 at the annual LGBTQ+ Tropical Fruits party.

The festival has been held at the agricultural showgrounds in Lismore over the new year period since 2003, and general manager Alex Torney said it was always a special time.

“We have this amazing creative queer diverse community here in the northern rivers that you may not expect to find in regional Australia,” they said.

“We are out here while other major music festivals are shutting down, just showing that our groovy little queer community has the energy and has the vitality to make exciting things happen.”

Founding member of Dykes on Bikes Nicole Nobles said this was her fourth Tropical Fruits.

“I’ve met some beautiful people, really enjoying the atmosphere and people coming together.”

Victoria

Melbourne saw a stunning display of fireworks, with the lights launched from 27 rooftops around the CBD, as well as several land sites.

Pyrotechnician Rusty Johnson has produced Melbourne’s fireworks spectacular since 2008.

“We’ve designed it so not only inner-city people get it, but everybody out in the suburbs can see it, they sit on clifftops as far away as Frankston,” Mr Johnson said.

Mr Johnson said his team had been preparing for the show since May.

“The best part for me I think is the finale, when we put up masses of fireworks to say ‘we’re here’; that brings a tear to my eye,” he said.

Muhammed Umam hoped to watch the fireworks at the Yarra River with friends. 

“We’ll bring some food … and we just eat it there while watching the fireworks,” he said.

“It’s pretty exciting actually because this is the first time I [have gone] to Melbourne to see the New Year here.”

In regional Victoria, Bendigo builder Christopher Power spent his third New Year’s Eve at the north-west Victorian city of Mildura.

The 37-year-old and his sons — Noah and Henry — also went skiing, swimming and “cruising around” the Murray River.

“And we have a New Year’s party here today, this afternoon,” Mr Power said.

“There’s about 13 couples who come up here in vans.”

Tasmania

Record crowds flocked to Hobart and Launceston’s main New Year’s Eve celebrations, as Tasmanians farewelled 2024.

In Launceston, almost 11,000 tickets were sold for Beerfest, marking a record attendance.

Organisers of the annual festival said half of those tickets were scooped up by interstate visitors.

The event celebrated local food and drink with Australian dance duo Sneaky Sound System headlining the evening.

Tickets for Tuesday night’s Taste of Summer New Year’s Eve party in Hobart also proved to be a hot commodity, with the event selling out on Monday.

Those lucky enough to nab a ticket rocked in the New Year with the Hoodoo Gurus.

In Hobart, Georgia said she was looking forward to the fireworks display while Zak shared his hopes for the new year.

“I’m hoping to not crash my car, lose five kilos, and make 15 grand.”

There was excitement on the waterfront, as the final boats in this year’s Sydney to Hobart hurried to reach the finish line before the year was out.

Ken and Tristan Gourley of the Blue Moon yacht were the last Tasmanian boat to finish the race, arriving 20 minutes before midnight. 

On the North West coast, sports lovers came together for the annual New Year’s Eve Carnival at the Burnie Athletics Club.

Australian Capital Territory

A potential thunderstorm didn’t dampen the excitement of crowds in Canberra for this year’s New Year’s Eve festivities. 

Tens of thousands of Canberrans flocked to the shores of Lake Burley Griffin for a dazzling 12-minute display at the early 9pm fireworks show.

The bush capital’s midnight fireworks returned by popular demand tonight, after being cancelled last year.

The ACT government said the decision to axe midnight fireworks was due to the 9pm show receiving significantly higher attendance for the past five years. 

The government shelled out $138,000 for both shows — accompanied by four celebration hubs with live music, DJs and street food scattered across the lake’s shores.

South Australia

Tens of thousands of New Year’s Eve revellers flocked to Semaphore on the South Australian coast to ring in 2025.

Organisers estimated up to 80,000 attended, with the foreshore a popular location for families to gather.

Roving artists on stilts weaved through the festival and live music created a jovial atmosphere, while many screams emanated from the rides and attractions.

On the beach, it was a calmer environment.

Denis and Jessie have just moved from the UK and were celebrating their first hot New Year’s Eve on the sands of Semaphore.

“It’s very nice, it’s very chill,” Jessie said, with Denis adding it was “a nice change”.

Trevor was visiting the Semaphore New Year’s Eve celebration for the first time. His hopes for 2025?

“I’d like to see the wars finish, that’s the main thing,” he said.

Father Aref and daughter Nesma were celebrating at Semaphore with friends and family, sharing Syrian food  such as falafel, shawarma and tabouleh in what has become their yearly tradition.

“My hopes for next year are to level up my grades and make more friends, be more social and focus on my studies,” Nesma said.

Other young attendees had big plans, with their new year’s resolutions everything from “get bigger muscles”, to “save some money and get a really good job” and “to be nicer to people”.

City of Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Claire Boan was satisfied with how the event ran.

“One person actually said, ‘the forecast is busy and more busy’ … we’re expecting at least 80,000 people here, which is an absolutely mammoth feat for all of Semaphore,” Ms Boan said.

“I mean, I live a kilometre away and at six o’clock, the streets were chockas down there.

“We’re really happy with so many people coming here to Semaphore and enjoying everything we have to offer.”

Queensland

The Sunshine State sparkled as bright as ever as Queenslanders from the far north right down to the south east gathered in their thousands to bring in 2025 with a bang. 

The skies over Brisbane’s South Bank were host to more than 80,000 individual fireworks across two separate shows in the largest displays in the state. 

The banks of the Brisbane River offered the best vantage point for the countdown, with tens of thousands of people flocking to South Bank to take in the action. 

Shelbie, Keira and Sienna planned to stay up until midnight.

“I’m excited for the loud noises and seeing all the bright colours up in the sky,” Shelbie said.

She said her new year’s resolution was to be more confident and active.

Siobhan Lau and Johnson Choi said they were looking forward to a big year ahead.

They rang in beside the Brisbane River.

“There’s a lot of changes coming,” Ms Lau said.

“New job, new house we’re moving into. So, lots of new things for 2025.”

At Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast, Deepa Hariharan said welcoming the new year could be tricky because it also coincided with her husband Ajoy’s birthday, which falls on January 1.

“Everything’s pretty much closed or everyone’s so exhausted with the 31st or New Year’s celebration from the previous night, so it’s always been our greatest challenge to celebrate his birthday,” Ms Hariharan said.

Meanwhile, Precel Laspinas’s family enjoyed the Gold Coast’s beachside fireworks show for the first time.

But she’s also looking forward to reflecting on her resolutions for 2025.

“It’s probably the same every year — new year, new me,” she said.

Her sister-in-law Amzelle Laspinas brought in 2025 with new determination.

“We’ve seen here on Gold Coast, everyone is trying to be fit,” she said.

“We’re actually inspired to do the same.”

In Rockhampton, big crowds celebrated the final moments of the year watching a bull-riding competition held out the back of a 162-year-old pub.

Michael Simpson is the owner of the Great Western Hotel, and expected up to 1,000 people from Central Queensland to attend.

“We’ve got the New Year’s Eve bull ride, and a honky tonk concert with a Luke Combs tribute,” he said.

The pub hosts professional bull riding events throughout the year, and it was the third time they held an event as part of NYE celebrations.

“Country is cool again,” he said.

“Whether it’s people that are from out of town, they’re looking for something different and watching bull riding is certainly something different.”

The New Year’s resolutions had already begun in central Queensland, where avid runners set themselves a challenge for 2025 — to run almost seven kilometres every day of the year.

“We’re going to run tonight at 11 o’clock as a bit of a warm-up and then at midnight we’ll run again to kick off the challenge,” Gladstone man Steve Stanhope said.

“It’s got to be 6.7 kilometres in an hour — it can’t be under.”

Mr Stanhope said that particular distance stemmed from the Last One Standing ultra event.

“Whether I’m coming off night shifts or I’m super buggered, we’ll do it rain, hail or shine,” he said.

Northern Territory

Wild weather disrupted fireworks in Darwin with the midnight display brought forward by half an hour to avoid a storm.

Locals, families, and visitors from around Australia braved the afternoon heat to secure a place at the Darwin Waterfront but less than two hours into the official program, a sudden storm drenched the city.

While most people rushed for cover, some hardened locals embraced the rain, holding up towels and blankets while the storm rolled over.

Six-year-old Maci Budd, from Perth, said her family got to the waterfront early to squeeze in a swim before the fireworks.

“It’s hot and busy, and it’s really fun to swim in the water … [I’m excited for] the light show and fireworks and to be with family.”

Her uncle, Darwin local Allen Young, said he’s grateful to have his interstate family with him, even if it is in the territory’s infamous wet season.

“Just to be down here with all the families is great and it’s great to have these guys up for a wet season,” he said.

Despite the wild weather, eager partygoers persevered, pouring in to Darwin’s popular party strip to celebrate the new year inside packed clubs, bars, and bars. 

Local police urged revellers to behave responsibly this New Year’s Eve, after the NT recorded its highest road toll in a decade in 2024. 

They have also issued a plea for people not to buy their own fireworks.

Western Australia

In Perth’s CBD, thousands flocked to Elizabeth Quay for two family-friendly fireworks displays, in the biggest firework celebrations the city has seen.

In Fremantle, crowds gathered for sunset cheers and parties throughout the port city.

Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas was in the CBD on the night and said he hoped the double-fireworks become a tradition.

“I really think this is the start of something really big,” he said.

“The 8:30pm and the midnight fireworks on the Swan River in front of everybody … something that makes it onto CNN, that makes it onto the highlights clips right around the world — Perth’s fireworks.”

Melbourne father Ujay visited his best friend in Perth with his family and said he was glad to be starting the new year with loved ones.

“I’ve got kids and a family and just want to be happy, and for everyone to be happy in 2025,” he said.

The outback

At an iconic pub where three states meet, travellers celebrated New Year’s three times.

Cameron Corner is located on the border of Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia — all in different time zones.

Manager Kate Osmon said about 200 people had trekked through rugged country to get there.

“Last year there were four Italian blokes here. They were in Australia for four days, literally to come to Cameron Corner for New Year’s Eve,” she said.

“We get a fair few people in the pub in the afternoon to cool off, then we have a bit of entertainment tonight before we go down the [border] post.”

One of Queensland’s most remote pubs had drinks flowing to ring in the new year for the first time in more than a decade.

Jeff Bambrick owns and runs the Kalkadoon Hotel at Kajabbi, an outback township, about 120 kilometres north-east of Mount Isa in Queensland.

He bought the venue in 2014 after it sat closed for five years.

The Kalkadoon Hotel reopened in 2022, but wet weather meant it could not host celebrations, making this year’s celebrations the first held at the hotel on New Year’s Eve in a decade.

“It’ll be fantastic, it’s our first New Year’s event since we re-opened the place in 2022, we’re usually flooded in by this time of year,” he said.

“We’re out in the middle of the boondocks, but it’s hot enough to come in for a drink, we’ll have the jukebox going and celebrate the night away.”

Meanwhile, other keen partygoers in outback Queensland started their year with a bush bash in the middle of nowhere — with the closest town more than 100 kilometres away.

The Twin Hills New Year’s Eve event near Clermont, about 10 hours from Brisbane, attracted people from across the country, with 700 attendees estimated to have attended this year.

Treasurer Angela Fordyce said the event had been going for a decade.

“There wasn’t much going on for New Year’s Eve around here, so I think locals just came together and said, ‘Well why don’t we put something on?’ and it’s grown from there,” she said.

“We’ve got a few of the young locals, they are auctioned off for a date or a day’s work.”