While revelers from Sydney to London and New York welcomed 2011 with fireworks, Pope Benedict XVI prayed Friday for those in poverty and suffering.
The pope celebrated a traditional Vespers service at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, La Repubblica reported. He reminded worshippers life is difficult with suffering caused by human actions and natural catastrophes but brightened by the love of Christ.
In London, fireworks set off from barges in the Thames and from the London Eye lit up the sky at midnight, flashing over Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Thousands of people packed the riverside and central London to watch.
The display was accompanied by music for the first time.
In New York, a giant Waterford crystal ball dropped in Times Square at midnight, CNN reported. The Big Apple celebration was supersize, with an estimated 1 million people packing Times Square and a ball decorated with 30,000 lights.
The revelers included Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, who was recently awarded the Medal of Honour. They started the ball on its 70-foot drop.
The second decade of the 21st century began with revelers in Australia kicking off global celebrations to greet 2011. Australians marked the event in Sydney with what local officials billed as the largest and most advanced New Year's Eve fireworks display in the world, the BBC reported.
In Auckland, New Zealand, fireworks illuminated the 1,076-foot-tall Sky Tower.
This year is the first time Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, officially celebrated the New Year, the British broadcaster said. Previously, city officials focused on Tet, the holiday honouring the lunar New Year.