Australia has welcomed in 2018 in style, with millions of dollars of fireworks bursting into the night sky on the stroke of midnight.
In Sydney celebrations centred around the harbour where millions had gathered on land and water to see in the New Year with a bang.
Fireworks of all colours flew from the Sydney Harbour Bridge before finishing with a flowing rainbow river, a tribute to Australia’s historic same sex marriage vote.
In what has become an annual feature, Australia’s biggest city came to a standstill at midnight as it became one of the first in the world to welcome in the New Year.
Australia has welcomed in 2018 in style, with millions of dollars of fireworks bursting into the night sky on the stroke of midnight
In Sydney celebrations centred around the harbour where millions had gathered on land and water to see in the New Year with a bang
Many of the top vantage points around Sydney harbour are already full of excited partygoers
Eager partygoers camped out at spots around the harbour for days to ensure they had prime viewing for the enormous annual celebration.
By early afternoon on Sunday, many of the most popular vantage points around the harbour were completely full.
Melbourne, which boasted about having more fireworks than Sydney this year, also partied in the New Year with a flurry of fireworks exploding from its skyscrapers.
Despite terror threats, locals crammed into Federation Square and along the Yarra River to catch a glimpse of Victoria’s midnight fireworks.
An estimated 1.5 billion people watched the east coast cities celebrate the start of a new calendar year, with Australia one of the first places in the world to do so.
Hobart and Canberra were the other east coast cities to see in 2018, with Brisbane an hour behind.
While millions crammed into capital cities to enjoy fireworks, thousands of others saw in 2017 at music festivals around the country.
Despite the dozens of people being trampled at Falls Festival in Lorne on Friday, there were no dampened spirits at the sister event in Byron Bay on Saturday.
Others drove to Warragul, in south-eastern Victoria, to attend Beyond the Valley.
While it was largely been a day of celebration, the New Year’s fireworks came hours after a horror plane crash north of Sydney which claimed the lives of six people.
While it was largely been a day of celebration, the New Year’s fireworks came hours after a horror plane crash north of Sydney which claimed the lives of six people