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New Year's Eve 2017 - live updating: New Zealand rings in 2018 as celebrations kick off around the world

Live Blog

Pacific islands of Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati first to say goodbye to 2017

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The Independent Online

Key Points

10am GMT: Samoa and some Pacific islands are first to see in 2018 as clock strikes midnight

11am: New Zealand celebrates with huge firework display in Auckland

Fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House as part of new year celebrations REUTERS

New Year's Eve celebrations have begun to kick off around the world, with Samoa the first country to welcome in 2018.

The tiny pacific island saw in the new year at 10am GMT, with New Zealand following an hour later. 

In Australia, 2018 will arrive at 1pm GMT with as many as one million people expected to watch Sydney harbour's world famous fireworks.

Rail strikes and Storm Dylan were expected to disrupt New Year's Eve travel in the UK, with gusts of up to 80mph forecast in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Live Updates

There will be fewer police in London for tonight's New Year’s Eve celebrations compared to previous years, despite four serious terror attacks in the capital during 2017.

But a larger number of armed police will be deployed, the Metropolitan Police said.

More than 3,000 armed officers are expected to either patrol streets or operate undercover, although Scotland Yard said there was no “specific threat” to the public.

While the fireworks lighting up Auckland's skies will be the first images of 2018 that many of us will see, the Pacific island nations of Samoa and Kiribati were the first to ring in the new year an hour earlier at 10am GMT.
 
The remote countries waved goodbye to 2017 a full 25 hours before the new year will begin in American Samoa, an incorporated US territory and the last populated place to usher in 2018. Despite the difference in time zones, American Samoa lies just 100 miles east of Samoa and the two are part of the same archipelago.  

As New Zealand welcomes in 2018, millions of people around the world are kicking off their New Year's Eve celebrations and starting the countdown to midnight.

Clock strikes midnight in New Zealand
 
New Zealand has welcomed in 2018. Half a tonne of fireworks were set off from Auckland’s Sky Tower as the clock struck midnight at 11am GMT. Preparations for the display reportedly began six months ago to guarantee the coordination of the 3,000 fireworks.

Welcome to The Independent's live blog as New Year's Eve 2017 celebrations get under way across the world.

The last places on Earth to greet the new year will be US islands such as Baker Island and Howland Island, where 2018 will arrive at noon GMT on 1 January.