The Pacific island nation of Kiribati has become the first place on Earth to welcome 2026, closing the door on a turbulent year marked by global conflicts, political shocks and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence.
Christmas Island – officially known as Kiritimati – sits in the world’s most forward time zone, 14 hours ahead of UTC. That means when residents there stepped into Thursday and the new year, it was still Tuesday in American Samoa.
Home to more than 7,000 people, Kiritimati was once among the last places to see the new year. That changed in 1994 when Kiribati shifted the International Date Line eastward, effectively jumping a full day ahead and turning its “first to welcome the year” status into a tourism attraction.
Just 15 minutes later, New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands ushered in 2026, making them the second-earliest place on the planet. Auckland followed soon after, becoming the first major city to cross midnight at 11:00 GMT, alongside celebrations in Fiji, Tonga and parts of Antarctica.
Far above the Earth, astronauts aboard the International Space Station experienced a very different countdown. Orbiting the planet every 90 minutes at about 17,500 miles per hour, they pass through multiple time zones, giving them up to 15 chances to mark the new year – though official time on the station remains UTC.
As the hours roll on, attention will turn to some of the world’s biggest celebrations. Sydney is set to light up the Harbour Bridge and Opera House with its iconic fireworks, while major events are also planned in Hong Kong, Seoul, Dubai, London and New York City.
