The Pacific States of Tonga, and parts of Kiribash became the first countries in the world to enter the new millennium, 14 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. A spectacular firework display lit up Sydney Harbour as Australia greeted the new century. The third millennium first arrived as midnight struck at Millennium Island in the South Pacific. As the sun rose above the horizon of a normally uninhabited coral island in the South Pacific dancers, singers and drummers from the tiny nation of Kiribati welcomed the new millennium in flamboyant fashion. Here, as the countdown to the new year continues, the Chairman of the National Millennium Committee Seamus Brennan has urged everyone to take part in the "Last Light" candle lighting ceremony.
Since ten o'clock Irish time this morning, nations across the world have in turn been marking the beginning of the third millennium. In Auckland, Maori performers danced in the new era, while in Sydney harbour a spectacular fireworks display has drawn 100,000 people who have piled aboard 6,000 boats despite blustery conditions. The world's first millennium baby was born in Auckland. The baby arrived at one minute past midnight. Australia's first millennium baby was born 30 seconds into the New Year; the baby boy's mother had not expected to give birth until 8 January. 2,000 couples aged from 17 to 82 kicked off the new millennium in a romantic fashion as they got married in Bangkok in what was billed as one of the world's biggest millennium love-ins. And in Beijing, another 2,000 couples tied the knot in a sports stadium. Also in Beijing, lights remained on at the China Century Monument, where President Jiang Zemin lit an eternal flame and pledged China would restore its lost glory in the new millennium.
In South Africa, the former President, Nelson Mandela, will celebrate the arrival of the Millennium in Roben Island, where he spent 18 of his 27 years in jail. Mr Mandela and his successor, President Thabo Mbeki, are joining 500 guests at a banquet and variety show in a giant white tent alongside his former prison. In a television broadcast earlier, Mr Mandela said that the twentieth century had been a deep disappointment because, despite the means to tackle all the world's problems, most people remained poor and hungry.
Technicians in Paris are desperately trying to repair the electronic countdown clock on the Eiffel Tower, which has broken down. The clock had been counting down to the millennium for the last thousand days and is supposed to be the centrepiece of a major light and firework display at midnight. It is thought that a digital panel was damaged in the recent severe storms.
