World greets 2025 after sweltering year of Olympics, turmoil and Trump

Festivities take place amid uncertainty and gloom but there're some bright spots ahead

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SYDNEY - Crowds marvelled at fireworks and toasted champagne to greet 2025 on Dec 31, waving goodbye to a year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return, and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine.

It is all but certain that 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, with climate-fuelled disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley.

As New Year's Eve parties kicked into gear along Australia's picturesque Sydney Harbour on the afternoon of Dec 31, many revellers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.

"Obviously, there's a lot of war and disruption going on in various places," insurance worker Stuart Edwards, 32, said, as early crowds swelled on Sydney's waterfront.

"It would be nice for the world if it all sort of fixed itself, sorted itself out."

The self-proclaimed "New Year's capital of the world" was expected to spray 9 tonnes of fireworks from its famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge at midnight.

More than a million spectators were expected to pack the city's foreshore to catch a glimpse of the pyrotechnics.

"Just to see all the beautiful colours and enjoy being in this situation with so many people in wonderful Australia," said 71-year-old retired nurse Ruth Rowse.