Happy New Year!

Published Dec 31, 2010

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Multicoloured starbursts and gigantic sparklers lit the midnight sky over Sydney Harbour in a dazzling fireworks show witnessed by 1.5 million enthusiastic spectators who camped out all day to ring in the new year. Sydney touted its claim to be the New Year's Eve capital of the world with a spectacular display over the iconic Harbour Bridge using 7 tons of fireworks, its largest since 2000. As the clock ticked closer to 2011, cities across Asia readied for midnight events ranging from traditional prayers in Japan to a massive pyrotechnic display in the shape of a dragon in Taiwan. Europeans were looking forward to celebrations that could help them forget their economic worries.

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered along Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour to watch fireworks explode from the roofs of 10 of the city's most famous buildings. Shoppers bustled among the glittering malls and hotels on both sides of the harbour as they waited for the midnight countdown in a night of cool, clear weather.

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