In pictures: New Year's Eve around the world

Capital cities from Hong Kong to London and New York ushered in 2013 with colourful pyrotechnics and musical extravaganzas, including in reclusive Burma where the country’s first public New Year countdown took place.

By Kyle G. Brown (video)
FRANCE 24 (text)

From the glittering New Year’s ball drop in New York’s Times Square to joyous fireworks in London and cheers in a once-isolated Asian country, the world did its best to ring in 2013 with hope for renewal after a year of economic uncertainty, searing violence and natural disasters.

FRANCE 24 takes a look at the best pictures of the 2013 celebrations around the world.

In pictures: New Year's Eve around the World

Japanese people in the Fukushima prefecture mark New Year’s Day at sunrise with prayers for the restoration of their homes, which were destroyed in the 2011 tsunami disaster. Photo: AFP

Sydney ushered in 2013 in style with a dazzling firework display over its iconic Harbour Bridge. Photo: AFP

Revellers write "2013" with sparklers as they celebrate the New Year at the shore of the Gulf of Finland in the city of Zelenogorsk, about 55 km from Saint-Petersburg. Photo: AFP

Brazilian revellers watch fireworks light up the sky along Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach for New Year. Photo: AFP

Nudists take part in a traditional bath to mark the end of the year in Le Cap d’Agde, southern France. Photo: AFP

People drink champagne under the Eiffel Tower in Paris to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Photo: AFP

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian celebrates New Year's eve with French troops at Warehouse base in Kabul. Photo: AFP

NATO troops in Kabul enjoy a disco party to mark the end of 2012. Photo: AFP

Tens of thousands of Burmese people gathered near the Shwe Da Gon pagoda and Kandawgyi Lake in Yangon for the city’s first public countdown to the New Year. Photo: AFP

Young women paint each other's cheeks with the Palestinian flags as they celebrate New Year in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Photo: AFP

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the banks of the River Thames in central London to enjoy an 11-minute-long firework display. Photo: AFP

K-pop icon PSY - whose Gangnam Style video was the first to hit 1 billion viewers on YouTube - performs at the New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City's Times Square. Photo: AFP