Thousands of people lined the banks of the River Thames in central London to ring in the New Year with a spectacular fireworks display. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the New Year, on January 1, 2012. (Reuters/Daniel Munoz)
People release balloons as the Tokyo Tower is illuminated to celebrate the New Year at a countdown event at the Zojo-ji Buddhist temple in Tokyo, on January 1, 2012. (Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
Residents watch fireworks displays above the Malaysia's iconic landmarks, the Twin Towers, during the new year celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, on January 1, 2012. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)
Colorful light illuminate the Temple of Heaven, the city's historic landmark during a countdown event for new year 2012 on January 1, 2012. (Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images)
People gather to celebrate the new year 2012 at the illuminated Temple of Heaven, the city's historic landmark in Beijing, on January 1, 2012. (Liu Jin/AFP/Getty Images)
Fireworks explode from Taiwan's tallest skyscraper Taipei 101 during New Year celebrations in Taipei, on January 1, 2012.(Reuters/Shengfa Lin)
Thousands of people watch fireworks during New Year's Day celebration on Red Square in Moscow, on January 1, 2012. (Reuters/Denis Sinyakov)
Fireworks explode beside Vienna's Giant Ferris Wheel (Wiener Riesenrad) at Prater park during New Year's celebrations in Vienna, on January 1, 2012. (Reuters/Lisi Niesner)
Fireworks explode over the Quadriga statue atop the Brandenburg Gate on New Year's Eve on January 1, 2012, in Berlin, GermanyAccording to the media, up to one million people celebrated at the country's biggest New Year's Eve Party. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
New Year's Eve fireworks illuminate the sky over the Dom Tower, on January 01, 2012 in Utrecht, Netherlands. (Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
People spray champagne as they celebrate the New Year on the Trocadero square in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, early on January 1, 2012. (Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images)
[img]http://fmn.rrimg.com/fmn059/20120102/1225/b_large_LOp6_1a640000437f125f.jpg[/img
]A capacity crowd fills the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine with lit candles during New Year's Eve "Concert for Peace" in New York, on December 31, 2011. (Reuters/Ray Stubblebine)
Fireworks light up the London skyline and Big Ben just after midnight on January 1, 2012 in London, England. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
Fireworks explode during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the new year in the coastal city of Vina del Mar, about 121 km (75 miles) northwest of Santiago, Chile, on January 1, 2012. (Reuters/Eliseo Fernandez)
Confetti is dropped on revelers at midnight during New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square in New York, on January 1, 2012. (Reuters/Gary Hershorn)
Confetti rains down on celebrants at midnight during New Year's Eve in Times Square in New York, on January 1, 2012. (Reuters/ Kena Betancur)
Fireworks burst over the Las Vegas Strip at midnight on New Year's Day 2012, as seen from Mix at Mandalay Bay. (Photo/Las Vegas News Bureau, Darrin Bush)
Spectators at Gas Works Park watch fireworks light up the iconic Space Needle as the new year begins on Sunday, January 1, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. (AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Joshua Trujillo)
The first rising sun of 2012 appears above Mt. 2012年的第一个上升太阳出现万吨以上。 Fuji, observed at Yamanashi prefecture on January 1, 2012.All Nippon Airways (ANA) had organized a rising sun observation flight with 137 passengers on New Year's Day. (JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images)