AUCKLAND: The countdown is over. The clock has struck midnight, 2016 has arrived, and celebrations across the nation are ramping up.
Hordes of people gathered around the Sky Tower in Auckland to take in the annual New Year’s fireworks display.
Prior to the big countdown, a band entertained the crowd, performing a cover of Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself, which turned into an enthusiastic mass sing-along, before launching into Pharrell’s Happy.
In parts of the SkyCity complex, crowds were almost too thick to walk through and vendors on the sidelines hawked glowing headwear and light Sabres.
Auckland’s sky lit and fireworks blasted from SkyTower, marking in the New Year-2016.
Organiser Robert McDermott says the five-minute, 360-degree display beamed around the world, creating an advertisement for the city.
