Freezing cold plunges, snow covered runs and good old tradition mark the new year around the world. MOREINFO: New year was celebrated with swimming in icy water in the U.S. and the Netherlands while Germans preferred to run through their own freezing weather conditions. The Brits kept their clothes on and watched a traditional parade to hail 2008. SCRIPT: Some like it hot... and some like it very very cold indeed. You could call it brave - you might be tempted to call it insane - but these swimmers are plunging into waters of sub zero temperatures to celebrate the new year. A record number of 689 people took part in the annual Polar Plunge on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota in the United States. Temperatures were minus 2 degrees Fahrenheit but wind chill made it feel much colder, as reflected on some swimmers' faces. In the Netherlands, the North Sea temperatures were a little higher and the mood a little lighter as these new year swimmers took the the water. The emphasis was more on fun than endurance, and more than nine thousand hardy swimmers took part in what has become an annual tradition in the Hague. New year weather in Berlin in Germany was pretty grim with freezing temperatures and plenty of snow. But it didn't put off runners taking the opportunity to exercise off a few pounds gained over the Christmas season on the traditional news year's day run. The less energetic took part in snowman building, which came as revelation to some. SOUNDBITE: Colombian Tourist Diana Neira saying: (Spanish) "We don't have snow in Bogota so we find it really amusing to make snowballs and build a snowman." Over the in the UK New Year was celebrated with a good old fashioned parade through the streets of central London. Mess from the previous night's firework celebrations had been rapidly clear to make way for chinese dragons, marching bands and parade princesses as crowds lined the streets. The new year parade is an annual event in the British capital and features local traditions such as pearly kings, morris dancers and London's town crier. Penny Tweedie, Reuters. TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~**NONE**~ Thousands of Dutch nationals celebrated the New Year by diving into the North Sea on Tuesday. SHOWS: (EU) SCHEVENINGEN BEACH, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (JANUARY 1, 2008) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. NORTH SEA WITH THE DIVERS WAITING ON BEACH 2. DIVERS ON THE BEACH WITH HOTEL IN THE BACKGROUND 3. PEOPLE DANCING ON THE BEACH TO WARM UP FOR THE SWIM 4. MORE PEOPLE DANCING. 5. A MAN LYING ON HIS TOWEL ON THE SAND 6. PEOPLE PREPARING THEMSELVES FOR THE SWIM 7. DIVERS DANCING WITH DUTCH FLAG IN THE BACKGROUND 8. PEOPLE WARMING UP BEHIND THE ROPE BEFORE THE RUN 9. DIVERS SHOUTING AND RUNNING TOWARDS THE NORTH SEA 10. SCOUTS CARRYING BANNER AND RUNNING ON THE BEACH 11. PEOPLE DIVING INTO THE SEA 12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN SAYING: "It's a fresh start for the new year. The best start." 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED GIRLS SAYING: "So fun! We wanted to start fresh. It's funny. It's very cool." 14. SOUNDBITE (English) UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING: "That cold" 15. SOUNDBITE (English) TWO UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN SAYING: 1ST WOMAN: "New year, once in a lifetime". 2ND WOMAN: "To do the very first good act in 2008" 16. GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE COUNTING DOWN AND RUNNING TOWARDS THE SEA 17. SOUNDBITE (English) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN SAYING: "Very cold. Because it's our last year in Holland and we wanted to do it before we left. (Q. where are you from?) from England". 18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TWO UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN SAYING: 1ST WOMAN: "It was very, very nice. And not cold!" 2ND WOMAN: "Because it's fun. And it's a tradition." 19. MAN RUNNING OUT OF THE SEA AND SAYING in dutch "Cold. So cold". 20. DIVERS LEAVING AND GETTING DRESSED STORY: An annual tradition in The Hague, The Netherlands, is the New Year's Dive (Nieuwjaarsduik) taken by thousands of people into the icy cold waters of the North Sea by the Pier at Scheveningen Beach. This year, about 9500 hardy inhabitants of the Netherlands hurled themselves into the North Sea at midday on Tuesday (January 1), hoping for an effective hangover cure. The event featured a sea of people, many wearing traditional Dutch orange clothing. Those who decide to dip in the frosty ocean waters can look forward to some soup, hot chocolate and spirits as the present temperature of the North Sea is 8 Degrees Celsius. The dive began in 1965 at the initiative of Jan van Scheijndel, who was an English Channel swimmer. In that year, seven people took part in the plunge. Over the course of time, the New Year's Dive has grown into a massive event. In 2007 it had to be cancelled for the first time in 39 years due to bad weather. TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~**NONE**~ While Germany's joggers brave the winter weather for their New Year Run, tourists delight in the heavy snow. SHOWS: (EU) BERLIN, GERMANY (JANUARY 1, 2008) (REUTERS- ACCESS ALL) 1. JOGGERS WITH INTERNATIONAL FLAGS IN FRONT OF THE BRANDENBURG GATE 2. YOUNG BOY WAVING ON HIS FATHERS SHOULDERS 3. RUNNER WITH AMERICAN FLAG 4. YOUNG RUNNER WITH "2008" BIB 5. RUNNERS WAVING THEIR FLAGS AND SETTING OFF FROM THE BRANDENBURG GATE 6. VARIOUS OF RUNNERS RUNNING 7. VARIOUS OF RUNNERS WITH FLAGS GOING PAST SPECTATORS ON UNTER DEN LINDEN IN THE CENTRE OF TOWN 8. (SOUNDBITE)(German) YOUNG RUNNER JOHANNES BOCHER "I complained at first when my father said he wanted me to go running with him, but then I did it." 9. (SOUNDBITE)(German) RUNNER PETRA WINGEN SAYING: "Yes we all had New Year's resolutions, Conrad wanted to get fit by playing more football with his dad, my husband wanted to run more, my daughter wanted to ride more and I have forgotten what I wanted to do." 10. (SOUNDBITE)(German) RUNNER DIETER BEHRING SAYING: "Yesterday took part in the post Christmas run, and today we thought we would keep it up. Health is the most important thing, everything else will come from that." 11. (SOUNDBITE)(German) UNNAMED RUNNER SAYING: "We want to prove that we are able to start the new year well, despite alcohol and celebrating." 12. RUNNERS IN FRONT OF THE BRANDENBURG GATE 13. PEOPLE IN THE SNOW IN FRONT OF THE REICHSTAG 14. SNOW ON THE REICHSTAG 15. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PLAYING IN THE SNOW 16. LITTLE BOY IN THE SNOW 17. VARIOUS OF TOURISTS FROM COLUMBIA MAKING A SNOWMAN 18. (SOUNDBITE)(German) COLOMBIAN STUDENT FERNANDO CAGUA SAYING: "Snow is great for us, it is one of the first times I have seen snow, the first was in Munich." 19. (SOUNDBITE)(Spanish) COLOMBIAN TOURIST DIANA NEIRA SAYING: "We don't have snow in Bogota so we find it really amusing to make snowballs and build a snowman." 20. VARIOUS OF SNOWMAN 21. (SOUNDBITE)(German) OTTO STOLTENBERG SAYING: "It's great. I think it is quite special because we don't often have snow on the first day of the year. In fact snow has become quite rare during the Christmas period these days." 22. COLOMBIAN TOURISTS WAVING NEXT TO THEIR SNOWMAN 23. COUPLE KISSING IN THE SNOW STORY: Temperatures around freezing couldn't dampen the spirits of people celebrating the first of January in Berlin on Tuesday. The German capitals joggers took to the streets for their traditional New Year Run regardless of the snow and the cold. "I complained at first when my father said he wanted me to go running with him, but then I did it," said Johannes Bocher. For many the 4 kilometre run was the first chance to get out and run off the extra pounds they had gained with all the rich food over Christmas. And the weather was a real chance to prove their resolve for the new year's resolutions. "Yes we all had New Year's resolutions, Conrad wanted to get fit by playing more football with his dad, my husband wanted to run more, my daughter wanted to ride more and I have forgotten what I wanted to do," Petra Wingen admitted. "Yesterday took part in the post Christmas run, and today we thought we would keep it up. Health is the most important thing, everything else will come from that," Dieter Behring said. The snow was also quite special for the capitals visitors, especially those from warmer climates where a white Christmas is unheard of. "Snow is great for us, it is one of the first times I have seen snow, the first was in Munich," said Fernando Cagua from Columbia. "We don't have snow in Bogota so we find it really amusing to make snowballs and build a snowman," his friend Diana Neira agreed. Even the Germans took pleasure in the snowmen people were building out of the white carpet of snow spread before the German parliament building "It's great," said Otto Stoltenburg from Kiel in northern Germany. "I think it is quite special because we don't often have snow on the first day of the year. In fact snow has become quite rare during the Christmas period these days." TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~**NO ACCESS UK/ABC(Aust)/TVNZ/.CO.UK sites(Internet)**~ Londoners flock to city centre to watch marching bands, cheerleaders and morris dancers at New Year's Day Parade. SHOWS: (L!1) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 1, 2008) (ITN - NO ACCESS UK/ABC(Aust)/TVNZ/.CO.UK sites(Internet) ) 1. MARCHING BAND 2. TOWN CRIER IN TRADITIONAL COSTUME RINGING BELL 3. TOWN OFFICIALS IN TRADITIONAL COSTUME ON TOP OF DOUBLE-DECKER BUS 4. ONLOOKERS 5. VARIOUS OF CHEERLEADERS MARCHING 6. VARIOUS OF PEARLY KINGS 7. ONLOOKERS 8. ANOTHER MARCHING BAND 9. CLOWNS WISHING ONLOOKERS A HAPPY NEW YEAR 10. VARIOUS OF MARCHING BAND IN SCOTTISH KILTS 11. ONLOOKERS WAVING UNION JACKS (BRITISH FLAG) 12. MORRIS DANCERS 13. MORE ONLOOKERS 14. PEOPLE IN CHINESE DRAGON COSTUMES DANCING 15. VARIOUS OF CYCLISTS 16. CLOSE OF YOUNG BOY IN CROWD 17. GIRLS DRESSED AS PAGEANT BEAUTIES 18. ONLOOKER WAVING UNION JACK 19. VARIOUS OF MILITARY TRUCKS 20. GIANT PAPER TIGER FLOAT 21. PEOPLE ON MINIATURE STORY: Thousands of Londoners poured into the city centre on Tuesday (January 1) for the city's annual New Year Parade. The parade started at Parliament Square at 1200pm (1200GMT) and passed through famous London landmarks like Whitehall, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly. A variety of marching bands and cheerleaders, as well as more unusual acts such as pearly kings and morris dancers entertained the crowds lining the route. Onlookers waved Union Jack flags and cheered the parade participants as they passed by. 2008 is the 22nd anniversary of the parade, which first started in 1986. The parade comes a day after hundreds of thousands of revellers saw in the New Year at a huge fireworks display by the River Thames, with millions more raising a glass at parties across the country. An estimated 700,000 people packed the capital's streets on Monday night to watch the display at the London Eye observation wheel after Big Ben's chimes heralded the start of 2008. Police made 120 arrests but said the crowds were good-humoured with no major issues reported. TV AND WEB RESTRICTIONS~**NO ACCESS USA/ CNN/YAHOO/ AOL/ WIRELESS**~ SHOWS: (BN05) LAKE MINNETONKA, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 01, 2008) (NBC - NO ACCESS USA/ CNN/YAHOO/ AOL/ WIRELESS) 1. MEN JUMPING INTO FREEZING LAKE 2. WOMAN AND CHILD DRESSED IN WINTER CLOTHES WATCHING PLUNGE 3. TWO WOMEN JUMPING IN 4. WOMAN SHIVERING AND CLIMBING OUT 5. TWO WOMEN JUMPING IN 6. MAN AND WOMAN WEARING BIKINI JUMPING IN THEN CLIMBING OUT STORY: A record number of 689 people braved sub-zero temperatures to take part in the in the annual Polar Plunge on Lake Minnetonka on Tuesday (January 1). Temperatures reached as low as minus 2 degrees Fahrenheit, but the wind chill made it feel much colder, making the polar plunge the coldest in five years. Several hundred spectators watched from the shore wrapped in winter coats and blankets as swimsuit-clad participants jumped into eight by 32-foot hole cut in the ice. The plungers had to completely submerge themselves in the water before getting out for their jump to be official. All wore shoes to enable them to walk after they got out the water. The event was sponsored by the active life and running club and benefits camp superkids for asthmatic youngsters.
