( CNN ) -- Throngs of revelers gathered around Times Square in New York City early Sunday to ring in the New Year amid cheers , glittering confetti and fireworks in one of many festivities worldwide . Crowds erupted in cheers , kissed and hugged as the giant ball dropped at midnight to mark the start of 2012 . `` This is crazy , it 's doggone warm , '' said Gary Grieco of College Point New York , who attended the unusually warm festivities this year . Grieco said he hopes this year is better than the last and outlined his resolutions for the New Year . `` Quit smoking , that 's my promise ... today is the day , '' he said . iReport : NEW YEAR 'S OPEN STORY . From London to Samoa , the world ushered in 2012 and said goodbye to a year marked by natural disasters , economic turmoil and other highlights such as the end of the Iraq war . `` Natural disasters were pretty brutal and the end of the Iraq war was long overdue , '' Grieco said . Fireworks lit up the sky over London 's River Thames as the clock struck midnight -- one of many festivities worldwide . As Big Ben chimed on midnight , the sky exploded with pyrotechnics to mark the start of what Mayor Boris Johnson promised to be `` the most extraordinary and exciting year we are likely to see in our lifetime in this city . '' In 2012 , London will host the Summer Olympics and pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth 's diamond jubilee marking her 60 years on the throne . England was relatively late to the party , which began 14 hours earlier ( at 5 a.m . ET ) in Samoa , Tokelau and the Christmas Islands in the western Pacific . Samoa and Tokelau -- historically the last to celebrate the new year -- reveled in being the first to party this time round , after skipping west across the international dateline , missing out on December 30 entirely in the process , in a move intended to boost trade . From there , the midnight revelry worked its way west . The final ones set to ring in the new year will also be in the Pacific , specifically on the U.S. Midway Islands and American Samoa . New Zealand bid farewell to a year that brought more than its share of natural disasters , with fireworks bursting through a blanket of fog to light up Auckland 's Sky Tower . Dazzling pyrotechnics above Sydney Harbour got 2012 off to a spectacular start in Australia , with huge crowds gathered to watch . In South Korea , the Boshingak bell in downtown Seoul chimed 33 times to celebrate the occasion , while in Japan , many families ate a bowl of long noodles together to symbolize the bridge from one year to the next . Crowds of onlookers cheered as fireworks and bright lights flashed over Hong Kong 's Victoria Harbour and boats filled with revelers drifted below . In Laos and Cambodia , Buddhist temples struck their gongs 108 times to cast out 108 types of human weakness . The atmosphere was far more subdued in Vatican , where the pope presided over a Mass at St. Peter 's Basilica . The celebrations then moved across Europe . Russia started by kicking off its new year in a grand way with fireworks over the Kremlin . Three hours later , much of the continent -- including Greece , Italy , France , Spain and Germany -- were officially in 2012 , before England and Ireland finally joined in the next hour . Never known to shy away from a party , Brazilians in Sao Paulo , Rio de Janeiro and beyond celebrated the new year with characteristic flair and explosive pyrotechnics . They were followed one hour later by another large swath of South America that included Argentina , Paraguay and Chile . CNN 's Kim Segal , Laura Smith-Spark , Holly Yan and David Ariosto contributed to this report .
Crowds erupt in cheers , kisses and hugs as the giant ball drops . From London to Samoa , the world ushers in 2012 . Fireworks lit up the sky over London 's River Thames .