Bye-bye 2020: New Year celebrations kick off around the globe (VIDEOS)

New Year celebrations have kicked off across the globe with the Pacific Island nations and New Zealand becoming the first to wave goodbye to the turbulent 2020.

This year's celebrations, however, are expected to be just shadows of the usual festivities in many locations due to enduring anti-coronavirus restrictions.

Island nations, located immediately west of the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean, have become the first to enter 2021. All in all, the new year is celebrated nearly 40 times across the globe as it reaches different time zones.

The Pacific Island nation of Samoa marked the occasion with a fireworks display.

A massive fireworks and laser show has been held in Auckland, New Zealand. As is tradition, the display revolved largely around the city's most prominent landmark – the 328-meter-tall (1,076 feet) Sky Tower.

The New Year celebrations were continued by Australia, with the largest fireworks display held in the city of Sydney. This year, however, the celebrations turned out to be quite muted, as large gatherings remain off-limits in the country which has rolled out one of the toughest anti-coronavirus restrictions in the world.

While the fireworks went off above the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, as usual, the streets of the city remained largely empty, with domestic – let alone foreign – travel remaining heavily restricted in Australia.

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