TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK
An estimated one million revellers gathered at New York's Time Square to witness the traditional dazzling crystal ball drop as colourful fireworks lit up skies in Australia and people partied on the streets across Britain to usher in the New Year.
At the Time Square, the crystal ball began its 70-foot drop at 11:59pm last night, with the help of mayor Michael Bloomberg and Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt Salvatore A Giunta, amid harmonious chants of New Year's eve revellers counting down the final seconds of 2010.
Weighing in at 11,875 pounds with a diameter of 12 feet, the sparkling sphere was covered with 2,668 triangular crystals and powered by 32,256 LED lights.
By mixing red, blue, green and white light elements, the ball's lighting system was capable of producing a kaleidoscopic array of 16 million hues and colours, and billions of patterns, the event's website reported.
This New Year's eve celebration, like years in the past, was a product of a lot of hard work and planning by many people, New York police commissioner Ray Kelly was quoted as saying by CNN.
"We don't ever take it for granted," Kelly said. "The situation changes somewhat, we have sort of a core plan but we always add to it or change it - we don't want to get stuck ina rut where we simply take a plan off the shelf."
In UK, hundreds of thousands of revellers welcomed the New Year at open-air parties.
About 80,000 people attended the annual Hogmanay party in Edinburgh, where the crowd erupted in cheers as the clock struck midnight, BBC reported.
It said an estimated 250,000 people watched the eight-minute firework display at the London Eye, which was set to music for the first time.
Events were held in various other cities, including Glasgow and Cardiff.
Some 3,000 police officers were on duty, and the metropolitan police said 77 arrests had been made during the celebrations, mostly for public order offences.
In Australia, tens of thousands of revellers danced their way into 2011, with a spectacular fireworks lighting the sky around the iconic Opera House in Sydney to welcome the New Year.
Australia, New Zealand and countries in the Pacific became the first to usher in the New Year, with thousands of people gathering in different cities to celebrate the occasion.
Celebrations in Sydney began with aerial displays by vintage aircraft and a parade of boats around the harbour. About 1.5 million people watched the spectacular firework display. The Sydney Harbour Bridge exploded into a fiery cascade of red and white.
Over seven tonnes of celebratory explosives were detonated, roughly USD 675,000 of crackle and pop. The party went off at the cost of USD 5 million, 'The Australian' said.
The threat of storms did not dampen revellers' spirits as crowds jammed the city for a night of celebration.
A group of local students said they were hanging around on the Opera House forecourt since 10 am yesterday for the occasion.
With a pack of cards, laptops, iPods, sun-umbrellas and endless supplies of food, the teenagers said the long wait was all part of the fun.
"No one can beat New Year in Australia - nothing can compare," said Anne Marie Glenn, a tourist from England.
In New Zealand, thousands of people sang and danced to celebrate the occasion, with firework displays entertaining them.
In the city of Auckland, tens of thousands danced and sang on the streets with fireworks on display in the sky.
In Dubai, thousands thronged the world's tallest tower to welcome the New Year with an unprecedented spectacle at the world's highest fireworks at 'Burj Khalifa'. The 828-metres high tower was the centre of attention as spectacular environment-friendly and satellite-guided laser-lights-fireworks show lit the sky.
The show was telecast live to over 2 billion people, a statement from its developer Emaar Properties claimed.
Close to half a million people witnessed the New Year's Eve Gala from Burj Park, an island set on The Burj Lake opposite Burj Khalifa, and from other vantage points across downtown Dubai, it said.
The celebration also marked the first anniversary of the grand inauguration of Burj Khalifa, and enveloped downtown Dubai, the 500-acre mega development anchored by the tower.
A sea of humanity witnessed the four-act show, which was synchronised through satellite signals to and from a control station.
The Dubai Fountain, the world's tallest performing fountain overlooking Burj Khalifa, hosted a special fire-water-music show.
Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said: "The New Year's eve vala at Burj Khalifa has positioned Dubai as the must-visit destination to celebrate new beginnings.
"The show was one of the finest spectacles anywhere in the world, and that in the coming years, Dubai will be the place visitors from across the world will choose to celebrate the New Year."
