FROM Singapore to Sydney, from New York to Beijing, 2008 was ushered in with cheers and hope.

Even in strife-torn Baghdad, people spilled out into the streets to celebrate.

Hundreds of thousands of people thronged various parts of Singapore on Monday night.

They were at the beach, by the bay, in pubs and homes. Die-hard party-goers were at huge countdown parties at places like Sentosa, The Esplanade and Marina Bay.

The spirit was no less willing among smaller crowds at pubs in Clarke Quay and other nightspots.

Even the heartlands moved to the beat of revelry.

Punggol East, for example, had its own countdown parties, with MPs and local celebrity and Singapore Idol winner Hardy Mirza giving his first public performance since winning the Asian Idol singing competition last month.

Revellers in hotel rooms overlooking Marina Bay had that picture-perfect shot of the fireworks over the Bay.

At the stroke of midnight, thousands who had been waiting for hours were not disppointed. They were treated to an eight-minute spectacle of fireworks lighting up the sky.

Nanyang Polytechnic student Elizabeth Li, 19, caught the fireworks outside the Supreme Court with friends.

'We wanted to avoid the countdown areas because of the crowd. The fireworks were a great way to welcome the new year,' she said.

Elsewhere around the world, revellers thronged to where the action - fireworks, singing, dancing - was.

A million people cheered the traditional fireworks over Sydney framed by the iconic Harbour Bridge.

In London, 700,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square and along the banks of the River Thames to watch a fireworks display and hear Big Ben welcome the New Year.

China started its Olympic year with a party in Beijing including fireworks, singing and dancing put on by the Summer Olympics organisers.

President Hu Jintao called for world peace and development in his New Year address.

But reminders of violence were apparent as security was tightened in many nations.

Fireworks were cancelled in Brussels, Belgium, where police last week detained 14 people suspected of plotting to help an accused al-Qaida militant break out of jail.

In Thailand, an army spokesman said he believed that five bombs set off by suspected Muslim insurgents in the Thai-Malaysian border tourist town of Sungai Kolok likely targeted New Year's revellers. The bombs wounded 27 people.

In Iraq, crowds surged into the streets of strife-torn Baghdad, shooting firecrackers and weapons and dancing away.

The city witnessed something it has not seen since before the invasion of 2003 - people publicly partying.

In New York, more than a million revellers in Times Square cheered as the traditional giant crystal ball ushered in the new year.

A century ago the tradition began with a 700 lb ball of wood and iron, lit with 100 25-watt incandescent bulbs.

This year's event featured an energy-efficient sphere with 9,576 light-emitting diodes generating a kaleidoscope of colours.