2017 is here! (Well, in Tonga, anyway) Pacific Islanders become the first to welcome the New Year, while Sydney gears up for its annual fireworks spectacular

As 2016 draws to a close, revellers around the world are bidding a weary adieu to a year filled with political surprises, prolonged conflicts and deaths of legendary celebrities. Tonga and Samoa in the Polynesian Triangle and Kiribati in the Central Pacific were among the first places in the world to see in 2017. By 1pm GMT, Australia will be entering the New Year. Huge crowds have descended on Sydney Harbour (pictured) ahead of the city's famed fireworks display.