New Year Begins in Kiribati, the World’s First to Ring in 2026

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Manama: The Pacific island nation of Kiribati became the first country in the world to welcome the New Year, as the clock struck midnight in the islands closest to the International Date Line.

Due to its easternmost islands being located in the UTC+14 time zone, Kiribati traditionally rings in the New Year hours ahead of the rest of the world. Kiribati celebrates New Year at 1 pm (Bahrain time) on December 31.

Celebrations began in the Line Islands, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), with local communities marking the occasion with gatherings and festivities.

The moment marks the official start of global New Year celebrations, which will gradually spread westward across time zones over the following 24 hours.

The New Year at Kiritimati is followed by the Chatham Islands of New Zealand at 2:15 pm. New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington), along with Samoa, Tonga, and Tokelau, welcome the New Year at 3 pm Bahrain time. Celebrations then move to Fiji and parts of eastern Russia, including Kamchatka and Chukotka, at 4 pm, before reaching Australia’s major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne at 5 pm. The final wave in this sequence includes Papua New Guinea and Micronesia, where the New Year arrives between 5 pm and 6 pm Bahrain time on December 31.