The year 2022 has already begun in some countries around the world.

The residents of the South Sea islands of Samoa and Kiribati were the first to start the new year at 11.00 a.m.

New Zealand followed an hour later.

Unlike last year, when public fireworks were canceled due to the corona pandemic, firecrackers were again allowed to be shot into the sky in Samoa.

According to the tourism authority, the island state had five pyrotechnics experts flown in from New Zealand to install the fireworks.

In the Tonga archipelago, the forces of nature did not rest on New Year's Eve either: the authorities have been warning against approaching the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano since Christmas. The fire mountain, which last erupted in 2014, is active again and spews ash and gas into the air.

Sydney, Australia starts the new year at 2 p.m. CET. A colorful fireworks display is planned at the famous opera house. Unlike last year, this time tens of thousands of spectators are allowed to watch the world-famous spectacle on site. However, all participants had to buy a ticket for one of around 30 viewpoints beforehand. The event will also be broadcast live on the internet and on television. Shortly before the fireworks, the Australian state of New South Wales, in which Sydney is located, had more new corona infections than ever before.

It takes 26 hours between 11 a.m. CET on December 31 and 1 p.m. CET on January 1 for the whole globe to slide into the New Year.

In Germany, millions of people prepared for the evening during the day, also here for the second time under corona conditions.

Mainly out of fear of the rapid spread of the Omikron variant, there are contact restrictions for private meetings.

New Year's Eve party at the Brandenburg Gate is canceled again

In addition, this time there was again a general ban on the sale of fireworks in the last days of the year.

The main aim is to relieve the hospitals of additional patients.

In some cities, gunfire is completely forbidden in certain areas.

The police have announced increased controls.

The customs in Brandenburg, for example, have intensified their controls in the border area with Poland.

There were increased purchases of fireworks, including those not permitted in Germany, it said.

A spokesman for the Berlin police anticipates that illegally imported fireworks will be set off on Berlin's streets.

The largest New Year's Eve party in the republic in the capital, on the other hand, is canceled this time, including high-altitude fireworks over the Brandenburg Gate that are suitable for television.

The ZDF broadcasts a show from there.

Andrea Kiewel and Johannes B. Kerner will moderate.

Many big parties and fireworks have been canceled around the world, for example in Paris and London.

Celebrations have been scaled down elsewhere, including Madrid and Rio.

In Dubai, on the other hand, a spectacular fireworks display is planned for the tallest building in the world, the 828 meter high Burj Khalifa.

There are hardly any restrictions in Russia's capital Moscow, even if, unlike in the Emirates, the vaccination rate is low there.

Among other things, a large fireworks display is planned on Red Square.

In New York, the traditional New Year's Eve party in Times Square is to take place again with spectators, but all visitors must be vaccinated against Covid-19.

The celebration is to be broadcast live on television and the Internet, including the famous "ball drop", the lowering of a glowing crystal ball.