Sydney has welcomed the New Year with a message of peace following the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as huge crowds gathered to watch the city's annual fireworks display.

The words peace and unity were projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as thousands of heavily armed police officers patrolled the streets - a rare and stark sight in Australia - as part of heightened security measures.

New South Wales (NSW) Police said more than 2,500 officers were on duty across the city, and some officers were authorized to carry high-grade weapons.

The attack on 14 December targeted Australia's Jewish community, killing 15 people at a Hanukkah festival.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was lit up by a white light to symbolize peace, and a Jewish menorah was projected onto the pylons of the bridge to show solidarity with the Jewish community.

Official New Year's Eve parties were paused at 23:00 local time (12:00 GMT) for a minute's silence to commemorate the victims of the attack.

Pictures from Sydney Harbour - where thousands gather every year to watch the famous fireworks display - showed officers patrolling the crowds with longarm weapons.

In the lead up to the event, Premier Chris Minns had warned that some people may find the sight confronting, with police carrying firearms and weapons that you haven't seen before. But I don't make any apology for that. We want people to be safe in our community, he added.

British tourists Joe and Lucy said the increased police presence reassured them. The pair, who timed their Australia trip to coincide with the fireworks, were in Melbourne when the shooting occurred. We had our worries about coming for New Year's Eve, Joe told the BBC, adding, but we were reading more recently in the news... how more police were going to be here, it would be a bit safer.

Separately, Minns urged Sydneysiders not to let the horrible criminal terrorist event change the way they live, calling on people to show defiance and celebrate the new year.

This sentiment was echoed by spectators in the crowd, including Hélène from Belgium, who stated that people cannot live in fear following the attack.

As celebrations began, hundreds of thousands flocked to the harbour, with many official viewing areas filling to capacity early on.

Sydney's iconic fireworks display kicked off a chain of New Year events across the globe, from Dubai to London and New York.