World starts to ring in 2023 after turbulent year

The world's eight billion people have begun ushering in 2023 and bidding 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 will be 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 as the "New Year's Eve capital of the world" after two years of lockdowns and coronavirus-muted festivities.

New Year's Eve fireworks light up the sky over the Sydney Opera House (L) and Harbour Bridge during the fireworks display in Sydney on January 1, 2023. Photo: AFP

Australia's borders have reopened and throngs of revellers gathered along Sydney's sparkling harbour to watch 100,000 pyrotechnics light up the southern sky.

A crowd that had been projected to hit more than one million watched as a spectacular 12-minute display showered the waterway and illuminated the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

"It's been a fairly good year for us; getting past Covid of course is great," David...