Sydney lights up 2013 sky

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: Sydney, Australia, welcomed the New Year in spectacular fashion on Tuesday.

Australian singer, Kylie Minogue, who was designated creative ambassador for the fireworks, pressed the button to start the event, as a pair of giant red lips atop the Sydney Harbor bridge counted down the seconds to midnight.

The city exploded in color as fireworks were launched from seven skyscrapers, with seven tonnes of pyrotechnics fired from seven barges on the harbor. There was also 60 tonnes of lighting and pyrotechnics on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. The theme of the celebration was "embrace".

The City of Sydney local government predicted that 1.5 million Sydneysiders would see the fireworks around the harbor, with more than a billion people watching it on television or on the Internet.