Midnight fireworks: East Asia enters 2026

As Ugandans prepare their evening meals and head to various places of worship or celebrations to await the midnight crossover, several parts of the world have already stepped into 2026. 

While we remain firmly in 2025 for a few more hours, the festive spirit is already sweeping across the Pacific and East Asia in spectacular—and sometimes mind-bending—fashion.

The Australian east coast has officially welcomed the New Year, but the transition was far from uniform. 

Due to a quirk in time zones, New South Wales entered 2026 an hour before its neighbour, Queensland. This created a "time travel" phenomenon in border towns like Coolangatta.

Marcondes Almeida, a chef who owns a restaurant sitting right on the border, remarked that at 11:00 PM local time, he could literally "see into the New Year" just by looking across the street. 

His staff member, Megan Barber, experienced the ultimate commute; she left her workplace in 2025 to change clothes at her home two streets away—already in 2026—before walking back "back in time" to finish her shift. 

As Marcondes puts it, while people usually pay for the privilege of time travel, in these border towns, it is entirely free.

As the clock struck 6:00 PM here in Uganda, the "2026 Club" expanded to include Japan and both North and South Korea. 

In Tokyo, however, the atmosphere was slightly more subdued than in previous years. 

The iconic countdown event at Shibuya Ward’s major train station was cancelled for the sixth consecutive year due to safety and crowd-control concerns.

Despite the cancellation of the Tokyo street party, the spirit remains high across the region. 

In Seoul and throughout South-East Asia, many are preparing for a double celebration, as they look forward to the traditional Lunar New Year coming up in February 2026.

Shortly after the Japanese celebrations, more of the Australian continent—including the famous Great Barrier Reef in Queensland—joined Sydney in the future. 

Simultaneously, the Pacific island of Guam, located thousands of kilometres to the north, also stepped into the new year.

For those of us in Uganda, the wait continues. As we watch the world light up via satellite and social media, we are reminded that while the New Year arrives in waves, the hope and excitement for what 2026 holds remain a truly global language.