(CNN) — As 2016 draws to a close – a fact unlamented by many – countries across the globe have been ringing in the new year. Hello, 2017 – here we come!
As the hours unleashed a domino effect of celebrations starting in the easternmost parts of the world, revelers in the United States prepared early for the ball – or indeed, other things – to drop.
Many Americans contemplated turning the page on a year that was a political roller coaster.
On a day for good cheer, President-elect Donald Trump delivered – tweeted – a special end-of-year message to his fellow Americans:
“Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don’t know what to do. Love!”
Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2016
In New York’s Times Square, Ben Von Klemperer took in the heightened security as the gates opened more than 12 hours before the big celebration.
Mother Nature cooperated somewhat with temperatures climbing from the high 30s to the low 40s during the afternoon hours.
Many bundled up on cordoned-off streets to claim their positions hours before Gotham’s traditional midnight ball drop.
Across the Atlantic, European cities including Berlin, London, Paris and Rome stepped up security ahead of their celebrations, following truck-ramming attacks in 2016 on crowds in Berlin and Nice, France.
In London, tickets sold out for what promised to be a dramatic pyrotechnics display above the River Thames, complete with a concert by singer Robbie Williams.
The New Year’s Eve revelry was choreographed according to the world’s more than 20 time zones — some separated by one hour, others by 30 or 45 minutes.
