"Australia's east coast welcomes 2026 two hours after New Zealand, but in Sydney, the country's largest city, celebrations will be held under the pall of Australia's worst mass shooting in almost 30 years. Two gunmen targeted a Hannukah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, killing 15 and wounding 40. A heavy police presence monitored the thousands who thronged to the downtown waterfront on Wednesday to watch a fireworks show centered on the Sydney Harbor Bridge."
"An hour before midnight, the massacre victims will be commemorated with one minute of silence while images of a menorah are projected on the bridge pylons. The crowd has been invited to show their solidarity with Australia's Jewish community by shining their phone torches across the harbor. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns urged Sydney residents not to stay away through fear, saying extremists would interpret smaller crowds at New Year's Eve festivities as a victory."
Auckland held a five-minute fireworks display launched from the 240-meter Sky Tower with 3,500 fireworks, becoming the first major city to welcome 2026 despite rain that canceled smaller North Island events. South Pacific nations marked midnight 18 hours before New York. Sydney celebrated two hours later with waterfront fireworks at the Harbor Bridge under heightened security after a Dec. 14 mass shooting that killed 15 and wounded 40. Police openly carried rapid-fire rifles. An hour before midnight, victims were commemorated with a minute of silence and menorah images projected on bridge pylons; crowds were urged to show solidarity by shining phone torches.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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