Firework displays, parties and other celebrations took place around the world to usher in the new year.

Concerts, fireworks, and snowfalls heralded the New 2011 Year in Bulgaria as the country said goodbye to the fourth year of its EU membership.

Citizens and guests of the capital city of Sofia, who wanted to celebrate outside the coming of the New Year, joined the hundreds of people, who gathered at the central Knyaz Alexander I Square. Dozens of young Bulgarian stars entertained the Sofia citizens on New Year's Eve, including Magi Dzhavanarova, Toma, Aya.

The December 31 concerts in downtown Sofia, organized by the Bulgarian national television (BNT), have become a traditional way for the citizens and visitors of the capital to see the New Year in.

Many other big Bulgarian cities bid farewell to 2010 with shows to remember. The seaside Varna offered a spectacular performance to its citizens with the participation of the biggest pop stars of the country.

People in the smaller towns welcomed the New Year, eating baked pork on the central square.

A scanty 2% of the Bulgarians will celebrate New Year's Eve outside Bulgaria, polls show. The top pick is neighbouring Greece, followed by the Caribbean islands.

In London, crowds gathered on the banks of the Thames to watch fireworks. Some were launched from the London Eye big wheel - which is marking its 10th anniversary.

In Spain, crowds also gathered in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square to take part in "Las Uvas" (The Grapes), a tradition in which people eat a grape for each of the 12 chimes of midnight.

As the new year arrived, Estonia became the 17th country to join the euro currency, with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip marking the event by withdrawing euros from a cash point.

Meanwhile in Greece, troubled by an economic crisis, many people spent Thursday queuing to pay road tax on time or qualify for a tax amnesty.

In the Americas, some two million people gathered on Rio de Janeiro Copacabana beach for a fireworks and music show, and the country's logo for the 2016 Olympics was unveiled.

In the US, meanwhile, New York's municipal authorities and warmer weather combined to clear the streets following the snowstorm which blanketed the city this week, allowing hundreds of thousands to gather for the famous Times Square ball drop at midnight.

Earlier festivities ranged from the release of thousands of silver balloons in Tokyo, to the first countdown of a western new year in Hanoi, Vietnam.

In Sydney, crowds watched what is hailed as the world's biggest New Year's Eve fireworks display.

Dubai saw a spectacular laser and fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.

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