World welcomes 2023, bids farewell to turbulent 12 months
The world has ushered in 2023, bidding farewell to a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe and Africa, stinging price rises, the Qatar World Cup, floods in Pakistan, and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict XVI.
While the rest of the world celebrated, no mass celebrations took place in Ukraine and Russia amid the ongoing conflict.
People around the globe flocked to squares and entertainment centres as the world ushered in 2023.
The US welcomed the New Year at the country's famous Times Square as hundreds of people gathered on Saturday to celebrate the New Year.
The New Year celebrations were open to the public this year following two years of limited participation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of thousands of participants, mainly New Yorkers and tourists from around the world filled the square.
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Approximately one billion people around the globe reportedly watched the celebrations in New York, which were broadcast live on national channels, internet portals and social media applications.
Across Türkiye, many people gathered to mark the New Year in city centres.
Besiktas, Taksim and Kadikoy districts were among locations where people met to celebrate the New Year in Türkiye's largest city, Istanbul.
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In the megacity Istanbul, people flocked to several squares to celebrate arrival of 2023.
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo welcomed the new year with concerts and fireworks.
People in several European countries also flocked to outdoors for large-scale events.
The fireworks show, which was canceled in 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak, was allowed this year in the Champs-Elysees, the busiest and touristic street of the French capital Paris.
While the traffic was closed to vehicles along the street, public transport in and around Paris was free of charge as buses, suburban trains and metro services were extended until morning.
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An estimated 500,000 people attended the celebrations in the Champs-Elysees.
In Germany, thousands of people joined the New Year celebrations in the capital Berlin at the city's Brandenburg Gate, a symbolic location where people gather annually to mark the end of the year.
Ukrainians bring in the New Year under the shadow of blasts in the capital Kiev. No extensive celebrations were held this year in the city, where the conflict with Russia continues for more than 10 months.
At least one person was killed and 20 others were injured in Kiev due to the missile attacks carried out by the Russian army on the last day of 2022.
Meanwhile, Russia entered 2023 without fireworks displays and mass entertainment programs on the streets, with the decision of the city administrations due to the Moscow's military incursion in Ukraine.
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