Fireworks explode from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House during the midnight display

New Year’s Eve celebrations rolled their way around the world before the UK welcomed 2018 with a massive 12-minute fireworks display over the London Eye.

Thousands also marked Hogmanay in Edinburgh, braving warnings of stormy weather.

Samoa, a tiny pacific island, welcomed the new year at 10am GMT, followed by New Zealand an hour later.

In Australia, 2018 arrived at 1pm GMT with as many as one million people watching Sydney harbour’s world famous fireworks.

North Korea’s Pyongyang display outshone that of Japan half an hour earlier. But both were dwarfed by a 10-minute extravaganza on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour.

Whatsapp went down as India celebrated its New Year, prompting thousands to complain they could not send messages to friends and family.

Dubai shunned the more conventional fireworks display in favour of a colourful light show that illuminated the side of the iconic Burj Khalifa skyscraper.

The last places on Earth to greet the new year will be US islands such as Baker Island and Howland Island, where 2018 will arrive at noon GMT on 1 January.