AUSTRALIA-SYDNEY-NEW YEAR-FIREWORKS

The pre-midnight New Year's Eve fireworks based on the Aboriginal theme 'Creation Storm' explodes above the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House on December 31, 2008. Over 1.5 million Sydneysiders and tourists have lined the harbour foreshores to watch 120,000 pyrotechnics usher in the new year. AFP PHOTO/Torsten BLACKWOOD