The world's eight billion people on Saturday ushered in 2023 and bid farewell to a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises, Lionel Messi's World Cup glory, and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict.
Many were looking to cut loose this New Year's Eve after a few pandemic-dampened years, setting aside pinched budgets and a virus that is increasingly forgotten but not gone.
Sydney was among the first major cities to ring in 2023, restaking its claim to be the “New Year's Eve capital of the world” after two years of lockdown and coronavirus-muted festivities.
Australia's borders reopened and the crowds gathering at Sydney's sparkling harbour to watch 100,000 pyrotechnics illuminate the southern sky numbered more than one million.
For some, 2022 was a year of Wordles, the Great Resignation, a new Taylor Swift album, an Oscar slap and billionaire meltdowns.
It also saw the deaths of Queen Elizabeth II, Brazilian football icon Pele, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jiang Zemin, and Shinzo Abe. Former pope Benedict XVI died on New Year's Eve.
In November, the global population surpassed the historic milestone of eight billion people.
But 2022 is most likely to be remembered for armed conflict returning to Europe -- a continent that was the crucible of two world wars.
More than 300 days into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, about 7,000 civilians have been killed and 10,000 more injured, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
About 16 million Ukrainians have fled their homes.
For those who remain, an 11pm to 5am curfew will be in place amid periodic blackouts and Russian missile barrages.
While some marked the occasion with quiet candlelit prayers, others partied through the night in a collective show of resolve.
There seems to be a dulled appetite for grand celebrations in Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Moscow cancelled its traditional fireworks show after Mayor Sergei Sobyanin asked residents to vote on how to mark the occasion.
The new year started with a new leader in Brazil, where Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva takes the reins on Sunday following his razor-thin win in October polls.
However, China began 2023 battling a surge in Covid infections after unwinding restrictions to contain the virus.
While vaccines have allowed life to return to semi-normal in most parts of the world, the virus continues to thwart China's attempts to move on.
Hospitals in the world's most populous nation have been overwhelmed by an explosion of cases following the decision to lift strict "zero-Covid" rules.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told the country in a televised New Year's Eve address that, despite the outbreak, "the light of hope is right in front of us."