Australia Rings in 2018 With Massive Fireworks Display

Australia isn’t the first place in the world to see the New Year, but Australians started 2018 with a massive fireworks display over Sydney Harbour.

According to The Guardian, Australians launched off eight tonnes (over 17,000 lbs) of fireworks, creating 100,000 pyrotechnic effects. The display cost AU$7 million (about $5.4 million U.S.) and lasted 12 minutes.

The biggest display was saved for a rainbow tribute to the country recently making same-sex marriage legal. It was also a salute to the 40th anniversary of the Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras.

A 20-second segment of the fireworks display was designed by The Greatest Showman actor and native Australian Hugh Jackman. He worked with Fortunato Foti of Foti Fireworks to create the display, which is set to the music written by the late Gurrumul Yunupingu.

“New Year’s Eve is a reminder of how important my roots are to me,” Jackman said before New Year’s Eve, reports ABC.Net.Au. “We used to come to the forecourt, or North Sydney. We used to watch from McMahons Point or sometimes on the other side in the Eastern Suburbs.”

According to TimeAndDate.com, most of Australia saw 2017 turn into 2018 at 8:00 a.m. ET. However, the first places to see the New Year it is Samoa. And even though American Samoa is only about 100 miles away from Samoa, it is the last place to see the New Year. It won’t happen there until 7:00 a.m. ET. the following morning.

As CNN points out, it takes 26 hours for the entire world to start 2018.

Photo credit: Scott Barbour / City of Sydney/Getty Images