gathered with that spirit in mind... to ring in the start of 2015.

In Brazil, an estimated two million people converged on Copacabana Beach for a 16-minute-long

fireworks show. They weren′t just celebrating the new year,...

but also the official opening of Rio de Janeiro′s 450th birthday.

Tens of thousands braved the cold in London for a display of pyrotechnics on the River

Thames,... with Big Ben "chiming" in the new year with its unmistakable sound.

And in New York′s Times Square, arguably the mother of New Year′s celebrations,...

about one million people gathered... to watch the ball drop... as they′ve done nearly

every year since 1907.