Happy New Year - 2016 has arrived

The countdown is over. The clock has struck midnight, 2016 has arrived, and celebrations across the nation are ramping up.

Hordes of people gathered around the Sky Tower in Auckland to take in the annual New Year's fireworks display.

Prior to the big countdown, a band entertained the crowd, performing a cover of Justin Bieber's Love Yourself, which turned into an enthusiastic mass singalong, before launching into Pharrell's Happy.

And it was definitely a happy mood in the inner city overall, with drunken revellers, couples, families and flocks of kids on scooters all mixed up together.

In parts of the SkyCity complex, crowds were almost too thick to walk through and vendors on the sidelines hawked glowing headwear and light Sabres.

The Herald has been keeping an eye on what's happening across New Zealand, including what the celebrities are up to, while also bringing you the latest party, traffic, weather and other news tonight.Here's what the celebrations have looked like around the country.

AUCKLAND

Auckland's sky will be lit up tonight when half a tonne of fireworks will be blasted from SkyTower, marking in the New Year.

Organiser Robert McDermott says the five-minute, 360-degree display will be beamed around the world, creating an advertisement for the city.

With tens of thousands of people expected to be celebrating in the city Auckland Transport is putting on extra bus services to for revellers when they are ready to head home.

It has doubled the number of Nite Rider services, and is running Northern Express services every 15 minutes during peak travel times.

Uber is warning users that fees for those using the private driver app could surge as drivers capitalise on demand and is recommending people book their trip early to avoid long delays during the busiest part of the night.

At Auckland's Sky Tower, preparation is underway for celebrations at midnight.

"Set up complete, sound checks done, and we are ready for all of our New Years Eve celebrations tonight!! Come down and enjoy," a SkyCity spokesperson tweeted.