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CNN Live Event/Special
CNN New Year's Eve Live; The World Welcomes 2026; Ignite the New Year Fireworks at Shanghai Disney Resort. Aired 7-7:30a ET
Aired December 31, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New Year's Eve and all day long, CNN is giving you a front row seat to the firework -- world celebrates.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring in 2026 with us as we go live to Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Paris, London, Rio de Janeiro.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until the ball drops in New York City, Happy New Year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy New Year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And don't forget the festivals from Harbin, China, with the world's largest ice and snow sculpture display to Hogmanay celebrations in the Scottish capital. We'll take you to the Shanghai Disney Resort for fireworks and Paris' famed Moulin Rouge as the city of light rings in the New Year.
BERMAN: And that's not all. Join us on the world's fastest rollercoaster, race up sand dunes in the Leewood (ph) Desert, to be on the pit crew of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. We can even see some new Guinness World record set.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plus musical performances by Kesha, OK Go, Mayssa Karaa, Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy New Year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With appearances from South Korean Actor Hyun Bin, Actress Mahira Kahn and White Lotus Actor Tayme Thapthimthong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comedian Zarna Garg, Singer Mark Tuan of k-pop group GOT7, and Ms. World 2025.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From roller coasters, we are challenging ourselves to rise to new heights in the New Year.
BERMAN: So, buckle up for all the best events all around the world right here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTI LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to your viewers around the world. I'm Kristi Lu Stout.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Close. I'm Will Ripley. We are coming to you live from ICONSIAM here in beautiful Bangkok, Thailand, and there are thousands of people already out here. The crowds are expected to keep growing. The traffic is just gridlock. It's mania around here.
But we are at the CNN studio that we have built in record time with our amazing team here, almost two dozen amazing CNN staff helping to bring this show to you live from Bangkok tonight.
STOUT: The mood is jumping. And over the coming hours, we're going to take you across the world, showing you all the galas, the celebrations, the spectacles with our pals, correspondents stationed in the coolest locations all over the map as the world welcomes 2026.
RIPLEY: We have got reporters on literally every single populated continent tonight. Our first stop, Sydney, Australia, now less than an hour away and counting down to 2026.
STOUT: I am so excited to be here, Will.
RIPLEY: I'm so happy to have you here. We always do the show in separate.
STOUT: I can't wait to see the Chao Phraya River, the iconic Chao Phraya here in Thailand light up on New Year's Eve. You do this every year from Bangkok, but this is a first for me.
RIPLEY: It's going to be spectacular. They float the barges right next to ICONSIAM, our live location here.
STOUT: Yes.
RIPLEY: And the fireworks are literally over our heads. It's just spectacular.
STOUT: Now, this is going to be a little bit of a New Year's Eve challenge because Will and I, we are anchoring live five hours straight. We're bringing in the New Year. It is hot here. It is, what, just under 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It's like 25, 30 degrees Celsius. We got our handicraft fans here, and, again, five hours, no alcohol.
RIPLEY: Yes, totally sober.
STOUT: No shots, no tequila.
RIPLEY: Nothing, nope.
STOUT: But do you know what? I brought this to the set, my friend.
RIPLEY: You did?
STOUT: Yes. I got some Red Bull.
RIPLEY: Some Thai Red Bull.
STOUT: Let's crack it open.
RIPLEY: Yes.
STOUT: Cheers.
RIPLEY: Cheers. I'm going to wait for you before --
STOUT: You're going to go first.
RIPLEY: Okay.
STOUT: And we're going to fly tonight. There we go.
RIPLEY: And then the Thai Tourism Minister's delegation hooked us up with this until about an hour ago.
STOUT: These are herbal inhalers.
RIPLEY: Apparently it's herbal.
STOUT: Ooh, there we go.
RIPLEY: How is that legal?
STOUT: It's -- yes. This is no broke down policy situation here. This is legit stuff. This is an Asian pharmaceutical product. This is really nice. But we're going to be doing the Red Bull.
RIPLEY: I don't know how I've lived --
STOUT: We got the challenge.
RIPLEY: I don't know how I've lived my whole life without this.
STOUT: I know you found that. This is it. This is what you want to take home along with the beautiful experience here in Thailand.
Now, where's John Berman right now? It turns out he's accepted the challenge as well.
[07:05:00]
Let's listen in.
RIPLEY: John Berman?
BERMAN: All right, message from Becky.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John. I hope you are getting ready for your first trip ever out to Abu Dhabi. You're going to help me ring in the New Year here. And I've got the team sorted with a whole bunch of adventures for you, think arts, culture, and adrenaline. And a little hint. I hope you're not afraid of heights.
BERMAN: Arts, adrenaline, heights? What could possibly go wrong?
All right, take me to Abu Dhabi.
All right, welcome to the Yas Marina Circuit, the home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a very windy day here. You know, Becky Anderson told me to come meet her here at the racetrack. This is where we were going to start all of our adventures, but I don't know where Becky is. I got here and wait, wait, I hear something. Ah, here comes Becky Anderson in style, no less.
Hello and welcome.
ANDERSON: Hello. How are you?
BERMAN: All right, nice to see you.
ANDERSON: There is no elegant way of getting out on Aston Martin GT4, but it's never a dull ride.
BERMAN: How are you?
ANDERSON: Happy you made it.
BERMAN: I did make it. I'm here.
ANDERSON: Your pit lane track side at the Yas Marina circuit.
BERMAN: This is incredible. What an incredible location.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BERMAN: What an incredible few days we've had already.
ANDERSON: I promised you a bit of fun, bit of adventure, bit arts and culture. I said it wouldn't be dull. Did I rise to the challenge?
BERMAN: It is not one bit dull. It started right when I got here with a little bit, I would say unsettling adventure.
ANDERSON: Let's take a look at that.
BERMAN: It seems like it's fast to me.
ANDERSON: So, you see the fastest rollercoaster in the world.
BERMAN: How fast?
ANDERSON: 0 to 100 kilometers an hour.
BERMAN: 0 to 60 in less than two seconds --
ANDERSON: Less than two seconds.
BERMAN: -- for our American viewers, ANDERSON: At its fastest, 240 kilometers an hour.
BERMAN: Which is 150 miles an hour, which seems pretty fast.
ANDERSON: That's 92 seconds off.
Oh, hello.
BERMAN: I feel like I should have Botox.
ANDERSON: It's natural. It's natural. Oh my God. Hold on.
BERMAN: All right.
ANDERSON: Here we go. The lights are green.
BERMAN: It means go.
Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
Happy New Year.
ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE).
Oh my God.
Wow. Yay.
BERMAN: I think I felt breakfast that time.
ANDERSON: Well, how about that?
BERMAN: Oh my God. It's almost bad. It's bad the second time around.
ANDERSON: It's --
BERMAN: I hear it, those are my kids who are in the back two seats there. They're still sleeping after that. They're ruined for the rest of the time here.
ANDERSON: I'm not going to lie, that is an iconic moment in Abu -- it's amazing. I will not be doing it again. I've lived here for 13 years. It is the second time I've done it. It doesn't get any better. But if you like a rollercoaster, you're going to love that.
BERMAN: I'll tell you, it's billed as the fastest rollercoaster in the world. And when it starts, you cannot believe -- you cannot believe how fast it's going.
[07:10:04]
ANDERSON: Yes.
BERMAN: And so I may have embarrassed myself by screaming a little bit. We have to go something. You need to be saying something for proof of life the whole time. ANDERSON: 4.8 Gs.
RIPLEY: I actually went on that rollercoaster, guys.
ANDERSON: And, really, I am told that what you -- oh, did you go with it, Will?
RIPLEY: I did. The last time I was in Abu Dhabi, I went on that thing and I'm glad I didn't have a camera on me because I was screaming at a way higher pitch than either one of you. It was insane how fast it goes.
STOUT: We're sensing a theme in Abu Dhabi too. You got the need for speed in Abu Dhabi, the fast cars, the fast rollercoasters. John Berman, are you feeling well rested?
BERMAN: Well, I am. I've gotten plenty of sleep, but that's because every day I've been here, I've been so exhausted that I pass out at the end. She's -- I mean, it's been so much fun, the adventures we've been able to go on, but you've taken me everywhere and we've just done everything.
ANDERSON: And we're going to -- and you're going to see that. Folks watching CNN's New Year's Eve celebrations are going to see that throughout the hours coming up.
We are here at the Yas Marina Circuit. This is where the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix takes place every year. It's always the F1 season finale. And you are going to get more of us here as we work through these next hours, guys?
BERMAN: Happy New Year.
ANDERSON: Happy New Year.
RIPLEY: I haven't seen either one of you guys in a couple of years, but I can tell you, John Berman, Becky knows how to have a party. She knows how to have a good time. I remember, Becky, we've been in Paris together.
ANDERSON: What are you going to say?
RIPLEY: We've been in New York together.
ANDERSON: You've aged.
RIPLEY: We've had -- no. No, you look younger. It's amazing. But you guys are going to have a great time. We're excited to watch you and we will try to keep up out here in Bangkok as well.
STOUT: We can't wait to see the party in Abu Dhabi. Thank you so much, Becky and John. We will check in with you a little bit later.
To all of our viewers watching across Asia and around the world, you are watching CNN's special coverage of New Year's Eve. It all begins here in Bangkok, and we have so much to show you. RIPLEY: Yes. Just ahead, the Shanghai Disney Resort pulling out all the stops tonight to welcome 2026, it is already wowing the crowds with these fireworks called Ignite the New Year,
STOUT: And then millions of visitors, they are flocking to see magical illuminations, magical ice sculptures in Heilongjiang Province in China. We're talking about the Harbin Ice Snow World Festival in China.
RIPLEY: Where it's also like negative 25 or something.
STOUT: And we have our Mike Valerio and team CNN. They are there. We're going to take you there live.
RIPLEY: Plus, we're going to take you live to Sydney, Australia, standing as one on this New Year's Eve just minutes away. We're counting down to one of the world's most dazzling fireworks displays all over the Australian city's iconic harbor.
Stick around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, we're AESPA. And we would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2026.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're looking forward to meeting more fans globally this year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, let's make 2026 a year full of laughter and good energy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't wait to meet everyone this year too.
Happy New Year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:15:00]
RIPLEY: Welcome back. We're coming to you live from Bangkok, Thailand, counting down to the New Year here and around the world.
STOUT: Yes. And here in Bangkok we are (INAUDIBLE), dozens and dozens of performers out tonight. And we're going to get a very special K-pop star who is here in the kingdom tonight joining us on this set.
But right now, we want to pivot to Shanghai there in Shanghai 2026, still just a few hours away, but the fireworks have already started there. In fact, the Shanghai Disney Resort is putting on quite the show, Will.
RIPLEY: Basically, the largest Disney castle in the world turns into this giant IMAX screen, and they're going to be playing familiar Disney songs as well. So, just soak it all in, folks. Turn up the volume. This is called Ignite the New Year.
STOUT: Oh, I can't wait to check it out.
[07:20:00]
(FIREWORKS SHOW)
[07:25:00]
The House of Mouse and the imagineers certainly know how to put on a good pyrotechnic show.
RIPLEY: I feel nostalgia just watching it.
STOUT: Let's watch some more.
RIPLEY: Do you remember how old you were? The first time you went to Disney?
STOUT: The first time I went to Disney, I can't remember because I was a baby.
RIPLEY: Really?
STOUT: I went to Orlando. And that was -- I was just a little infant.
RIPLEY: Me too. I went to Orlando. That was the first time. I think I was five. I actually got so enthralled by everything. I wandered off and I was lost. So, a nun found me. It was like they were like a well- oiled machine. They had a whole like office for like, you know, wandering children, very safe.
STOUT: And I've never had a chance to see the fireworks in Orlando or in Shanghai Disneyland. I've enjoyed the ones in Hong Kong, in Anaheim. That was such an impressive show. Did you see the moment when 2026 came up in fireworks?
RIPLEY: I thought it was drones at first, but it was actually fireworks, I think.
STOUT: That was just incredible, the artistry, and that, my friends, is only just a taste of what's to come tonight.
RIPLEY: Because Australia, way until you see their fireworks, which are coming up like just over 30 minutes from now.
STOUT: Amazing. Of course, you're watching CNN's New Year's Eve live special, and our fabulous team is ready to show you the best of everything across the world.
RIPLEY: There's Angus in Sydney, Australia. Angus, I mean, how long is the fireworks show every year? I mean, it's always just insane and beautiful.
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Will, it's my -- well, I'm a little bit biased. Everyone here is excited. Everyone here is waiting in anticipation for this show, which goes on for the best part of 20 minutes. Usually thousands and thousands of fireworks, some nine tons of fireworks used in this spectacular New Year's Eve celebration, watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Right here in Sydney, on Sydney Harbor, a million people packed, for sure, just waiting for this once-in-a-lifetime experience for so many.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RINGO STARR, MUSICIAN: Peace and love 2026. Happy New Year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:30:00]
