The island of Kiritimati is welcoming in the new year – the first place in the world do so.
It’s part of the Pacific Ocean nation Kiribati, located south of Hawaii and north-east of Australia. It is made up of several atolls – ring-shaped coral reefs – and spans almost 4,000km from east to west.
Kiribati – pronounced Kiribass – became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979. Home to the South Pacific’s largest marine reserve, many of the atolls are inhabited; most of them are very low-lying and at risk from rising sea levels as a result of global warming.
The archipelago has a population of about 116,000. Despite being almost directly south of Hawaii, Kiribati celebrates New Year a whole day earlier.
Whilst many across the world wait hours until the clock strikes midnight, one atoll in Kiribati is already just minutes away from welcoming 2026.
Kiritimati (GMT+14), also known as Christmas Island, is known as the first place in the world to celebrate the new year.
Bryant Dunn, a fly fishing businessman from the US, is celebrating the new year there with his partner Waata Binoka Randolph – who was born and raised in Kiritimati.
“We will be celebrating 2026 on a beach with no satellites, no signs of human life, complete darkness and countless crabs,” Bryant tells me.
“We are very happy to celebrate in tranquillity because we want this to be the theme of 2026.”
In a few hours, Bryant will also be taking part in a community celebration, where a small group of locals will gather to watch the first sun rise of the new year.
“We will stand on the beach, a celebration that does lead to hope as the new year comes our way,” he says.
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