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CNN Live Event/Special
The World Welcomes 2026. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired December 31, 2025 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:30:00]
BECKY ANDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR, CNN ABU DHABI & ANCHOR: -- did in Bangkok in Thailand, fireworks lit up the sky when the clock there struck midnight.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And now, to another challenge, Al Wathba has set itself the goal of beating its own fireworks record. Oh my god, look at that. They're getting ready for a show that will last more than an hour. CNN Producer, Leila, help me say it.
LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Gharagozlou.
J. BERMAN: Gharagozlou is there. Leila, how's it going?
GHARAGOZLOU: Hi, yeah, I'm here in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, at the Sheikh Zayed Festival, which is one of the biggest cultural and heritage events here in Abu Dhabi. And it's famous for its fireworks show. Last year, they did set a record of the most fireworks launched in a 24-hour period.
This year, they're looking to set the longest fireworks ever record, along with four other Guinness World Records. As you can see, it is super busy. People have been camping out here. They're also doing a drone show, one of the largest drone shows in the world, with 6,500 drones, nine aerial artistic shots of that, leading into the fireworks. So it's going to be really exciting here.
ANDERSON: Leila, they love Guinness World Record here. We'll stand by and see whether they --
GHARAGOZLOU: They do.
ANDERSON: -- make that. I'm pretty sure they will. I'm pretty sure they will. We'll be back to you later. Thank you for that. Al Wathba, by the way, is beautiful. It's where I took my kids camping just a couple of weeks ago into the desert, about an hour away from here. Absolutely stunning.
J. BERMAN: It sounds like such a romantic place.
ANDERSON: She's in a good place. Let's head to the beautiful Rio de Janeiro now, and our Julia Vargas-Jones, who is literally, as I understand it, standing by. Where are you exactly?
(LAUGH)
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Becky and John. Well, we are in between the famous, famous Ipanema and Copacabana beaches in this beautiful stretch of beach. You can see behind me, it is just beginning the last day of the year here. People are still enjoying the beach, enjoying this beautiful weather.
As you know, this is what you do in Rio de Janeiro. It's beach culture, and a big part of beach culture is, of course, fitness. This is the Muscle Beach, nothing like the California Muscle Beach where I'm usually located. This is the real deal. Muscle Beach, almost looks like something out of the Flintstones, and I, lucky me, found these wonderful gentlemen who also came all the way from California. John and Levante (ph), why did you -- how did you end up here in Rio de Janeiro?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, it's freezing in California right now. Just get me away from the cold and give me some warm weather, some fireworks. It was an instant sell. No questions. I love the weather. I love Rio so far.
VARGAS JONES: OK, you're both trainers. You're used to very fancy gyms in California, I'm sure. Why did you decide to come here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to always get a workout in. No days off.
(LAUGH)
VARGAS JONES: No days off, no excuses. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
VARGAS JONES: You are going to show me -- I saw what you were just doing. I don't -- what is this -- what is this called?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is -- this would be used as a tricep extension or a pull-down machine, but it's about to be your warmup. That's what we're going to call it.
VARGAS JONES: OK, one of my goals, you guys, for 2026 is to be more fit. So we're going to see if I can survive these guys' workout. OK, let me just clip this over here. OK, what am I doing here, Levante (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, so we're going to do a tricep extension, whatever you want to do.
VARGAS JONES: Tricep extension, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice little neutral stance here.
VARGAS JONES: Neutral stance, whatever that means. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slightly bend a little forward. Want to keep your elbows locked at your sides.
VARGAS JONES: Like, this is way too hard already.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
VARGAS JONES: Oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, all I want you to do is extend your arms and point them out. Yep.
VARGAS JONES: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your elbows at your sides.
VARGAS JONES: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go all the way.
VARGAS JONES: That's a lot. That's too much. How many?
J. BERMAN: The audio was apparently knocked out by the good looks of the two men that she was hanging out with there.
(LAUGH)
ANDERSON: I have a question. Why are you here? That would not have been most people's question. I don't think people would have had a question. Just look them up and down. Go on, Julia, I think we've got you back. How did you get on there?
(LAUGH)
VARGAS JONES: Can you still hear me, you guys? Listen, there's one more. OK, you want to show me another one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh yeah, this is my favorite exercise.
VARGAS JONES: OK, all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the standing shoulder press. So you want to make sure your glutes are engaged.
VARGAS JONES: Standing shoulder press?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engage your lats.
VARGAS JONES: How do you engage your glutes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Squeeze them towards your chin.
VARGAS JONES: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then slightly turn your elbows a little bit here.
VARGAS JONES: In?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to keep our shoulders safe.
VARGAS JONES: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Push up and make sure you're peeking through the window.
VARGAS JONES: OK, like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then, peek out the window. Exactly.
VARGAS JONES: Like this. OK, this is it. Are you joining me, John and Becky? I want no excuses. You heard the men.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep, peek through the window. Peek out the window. You'll look your best, and you'll just blend in right with everyone else here in Rio. So go ahead and do it. Engage your glutes. Little bit, further in.
VARGAS JONES: Happy New Year from Rio. This is what my 2026 is going to look like. We have so much more. This is it for me. I'm sorry, man. We have so much more later on today. We have 19 barges, a show of fireworks, a show of drones. Two-and-a-half million people are expected to be in Copacabana Beach to watch these shows. Very famous Brazilian musicians that you probably never heard of, but this is going to be an incredible night.
Again, the day is just beginning. We have so much more to bring to you guys throughout the day. Becky? John?
[12:35:00]
ANDERSON: Is Julia quite short, or is it that those guys are just huge?
J. BERMAN: Julia is like 5'11". So they're 7'6". Those guys were 7'6" by the way. We're getting fan mail from all over the world right now. And I just want to tell the control room, who's been on me to do several costume changes, that at the next hour, I'll be wearing what those guys are wearing, looking exactly, exactly like them.
ANDERSON: I'll be here all night with you.
VARGAS JONES: You're going to rock it, John.
ANDERSON: It'll be hours of fun with John if you dress like that, mate. Julia, thank you very much indeed. Julia is, well, she's in Brazil. Where else? Where else would you be dressed like that on New Year's Eve? Apart from here, of course.
J. BERMAN: All right, so we see the sand there by Julia. And it had me thinking about, oh, about a day and a half ago, when we were in a different kind of sand, right? Remember when we went dune bashing?
ANDERSON: Yeah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the highest dunes in the world, 300 meters.
ANDERSON: You're going to give us a security briefing. What could possibly go wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your helmets. Don't put your hands out. And be brave. That's it.
ANDERSON: In it to win it. You there?
(LAUGH)
J. BERMAN: Makes me feel young.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, yes, I do remember that, John. I got to say, it was an awful lot of fun. I clearly remember it. Our next guest, no stranger to action shots, it's Emirati actor, Mohamed Faisal Mostafa, might be best known around the world as the alert air traffic controller, Abdullah, who knows something is up in the hit Apple TV series, Hijack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, I spoke to the pilot. He said it was nothing.
MOHAMED FAISAL MOSTAFA, ACTOR, "HIJACK": What if he's wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How could he be wrong?
MOSTAFA: What if he's lying?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why would he lie?
MOSTAFA: Maybe someone was making him lie. Maybe he was threatened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But his voice, he was not frightened. He sounded very calm and relaxed.
MOSTAFA: That's how they sound.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pilots.
MOSTAFA: British people, zero emotion. Tells us nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I'm one of those British people with zero emotion.
(LAUGH)
ANDERSON: Mohamed Mostafa is here with us tonight. Welcome, Happy New Year's Eve.
MOSTAFA: Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here in the capital. ANDERSON: Good. Yes. It's wonderful to be here.
MOSTAFA: Celebrating the New Year's, of course.
ANDERSON: I live here. John's having a whale of a time here in Abu Dhabi. How was your 2025?
MOSTAFA: It was incredible. I mean, film related, of course. I'm looking very much forward to 2026 as I've had plans now to set up a company with CMA, which we'll discuss.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
MOSTAFA: Few movies in the pipeline as well. So I'm very, very excited to represent the UAE on a --
ANDERSON: Few and you're doing a superb job. Tell us a little bit about Hijack. You work with Idris Elba, who King Charles has actually just knighted in the --
MOSTAFA: It's Idris Elba.
ANDERSON: -- in the New Year's honors list. How was he to work with?
MOSTAFA: I mean, we had scenes. So he was on the plane and I was in the airport. So we met on set, like not shooting, but basically, it was unbelievable to be on a set that big, number one. And the question that came to me was, initially, am I worthy of being here? Because being on a global stage, Emirati actor, I questioned it. But then at some point, you have to have that mental strength. I flipped that dialog and I realized, this is where I need to be. This is my passion. This is what I love to do. And I'm representing the UAE. So I did my best and I loved it while I was doing it. And thankfully enough, it did quite well.
And I was happy about the --
J. BERMAN: I will tell you, my family loved it. My family loved every episode of Hijack. And I have to say, you're absolutely worthy to be on the set with all those great actors.
MOSTAFA: Of course, thank you so much.
ANDERSON: Oh yeah, no, absolutely. Hijack, far from your only project, of course. Viewers will know "Khattaf" is the story of an Emirati MMA fighter. And you have another big project, or a number of projects, as you said, coming out in 2026. Talk about Khattaf a little bit, if you will.
MOSTAFA: So Khattaf was my first lead role carrying 15 episodes as an MMA fighter. I mean, I trained Muay Thai. I loved the training. I had the pleasure to be working with my brother, Ali Mostafa, who is an Emirati director. And of course, Najmeddin "Scorpion", who worked with Jackie Chan and Zac Efron, Jessica Alba. And that's where I first learned about my ability in choreography and stunts, because it's a different art to just training Muay Thai or fighting, for example. Anyway, from there, we finished Khattaf.
[12:40:00]
The beauty of Khattaf, what I loved about it was, it was a story of a superhero -- a hero, but not a superhero. He didn't have any abnormal power. He basically had a dream. He chased it. What I loved about it was, it was a story of a superhero, but not a superhero. He didn't have any abnormal power. He basically had a dream. He chased it. He achieved it. And that's what influenced a lot of young kids here to get into the sport of jujitsu, fighting, Muay Thai, whatever it is that they love.
J. BERMAN: How different is the choreographed fighting than the real fighting, which you say you do also?
MOSTAFA: It's quite different. There's a lot of exaggeration. It's a different art, really. And once you know the reactions, the number one, two, three, four, fives, from fighting forward, how much you have to expand the arm, there's a lot into it. And thankfully enough, from there, I got to learn that I'm quite good at choreography --
(LAUGH)
MOSTAFA: -- and it's something that I want to keep doing in the sense of being an action actor, because I feel like that's where I fit, is drama and action acting.
ANDERSON: I know your brother, Ali is a great director.
MOSTAFA: Thank you. Yes.
ANDERSON: And it must have been wonderful working with him. Look, tell us a little bit about MFM Media, the business.
MOSTAFA: Yes, I will. So basically, in order to do what you love, you have to indulge yourself and immerse yourself in the industry. Now, being an actor, we all know sometimes you do a job and you wait till the next, and I thought we have to do a bit of due diligence and understand what the government here has to offer.
And thankfully to our leaders here, we have a lot of support and governmentally, through the Creative Media Authority, there's a leverage that we have with the rebate system and many other areas in the ecosystem that they've built, which is quite strong for talent and so on. So I decided to immerse myself. I set up a company in the Creative Media Authority, and it's called MFM Media.
It runs on three pillars. One is production services, leveraging the Abu Dhabi rebate and attracting international film to Abu Dhabi and the UAE. And then there's talent, which is my passion. Of course, I'm an actor and an Emirati talent representing the UAE on a regional and global stage. But my dream would be, is to create that pathway for other talents to follow that way. So I want to manage Emirati talent.
ANDERSON: And it's been really interesting, actually, watching the productions here of the F1 movie in June, which we covered, and you see that young talent getting involved in every part of the production and the opportunities afforded them to work on really big, you know, big budget movies is --
MOSTAFA: Definitely. Yes.
ANDERSON: -- is absolutely fantastic. What do you think -- what do you think -- where do you think the UAE is in terms of filmmaking and where is it headed at this point?
MOSTAFA: I mean, it's funny you mentioned the Formula One film because the third pillar I was going to mention was product placement is what we do. And I think where the UAE is going is in a very positive direction. I mean, you can already see these international blockbusters being shot here.
And then within the rebate, obviously, there's systems and points and a structure that they've created to support the local businesses, the local talent to thrive. And I'm just super excited of the future, of the 2026.
ANDERSON: Yeah, well, good luck.
MOSTAFA: And I believe it's in a positive direction, it's in a great place, but it's only -- it's growing in a snowball effect in a very positive way. So I'm very excited.
ANDERSON: We are almost into 2026.
J. BERMAN: Happy New Year. I can't wait to see you and all your next films.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
MOSTAFA: Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate that.
ANDERSON: I look forward to seeing you around in town in '26. Mohamed Mostafa there, and thank you for being with us tonight and sharing --
MOSTAFA: Thank you very much.
ANDERSON: -- your New Year's Eve with CNN.
MOSTAFA: Appreciate it.
J. BERMAN: So we've been showing people a little bit what we've been doing the last few days. There's the adrenaline rush, all the terrifying stuff that you made me do, but we also really got to experience some authentic Emirati culture at the Liwa Festival, right?
ANDERSON: That's right.
J. BERMAN: Which is about three hours out.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: (Inaudible) and some dancing, traditional style. And John is going to tell you all about that, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:48:23]
[Foreign Language]
J. BERMAN: All right. Our New Year's Eve Live around the world continues. And as you can see, you know, I kind of started the New Year celebration early this week with those dance lessons at the Liwa Festival and I wasn't by myself. I brought in a couple ringers. I had to get some people who were better looking than me.
(LAUGH)
And here with me, my two sons, Teddy and Joe Berman, who got to the desert with us and do the dances. I have to say, Teddy, you did pretty well with the drum there. Like, what was the hardest part?
THEODORE BERMAN, FIRST-TIME ABU DHABI VISITOR: I mean, there were really two main things. The first being I don't play the drums, so it's really hard to pick up. It's a difficult beat. But the second being is that your arm is stuck in that position for, and you don't see this in the clip, is that it was four to five minutes. So my arm --
[12:50:00]
J. BERMAN: Forty-five?
T. BERMAN: Four to five.
J. BERMAN: Oh, four to five.
(LAUGH)
T. BERMAN: No, no, not 45. No, but my arm is holding the drum in this 45-degree angle, and it really hurts. It really gets you. I mean, even now, my forearm and shoulders are sore.
J. BERMAN: But you're ripped. I mean, I will say on the plus side, you've got incredible definition.
T. BERMAN: That's an added bonus.
J. BERMAN: Yes.
ANDERSON: So I've got to say, I thought that your dancing was a lot better than yours. You're a bit of a dad dancer.
(CROSSTALK)
J. BERMAN: (Inaudible) better? Better? Yes.
ANDERSON: Has he always been a dad dancer?
(LAUGH)
JOE BERMAN, FIRST-TIME ABU DHABI VISITOR: Well, I have to say, I got my bad dance moves from somewhere. But I actually think his dancing was phenomenal. I was just lucky because the people next to me were super, super supportive. I asked them how to do it. I used a little bit of the Arabic I picked up at high school, the two words I probably know, which is one and two. And I got help from there.
J. BERMAN: I mean, I will say that they wanted to help. I mean, I think maybe they pitied me a little bit, so they really were trying to get me going there. But they were so nice. I mean, every once in a while, I would drop my hand. And actually, you're basically locked arm in arm with everyone there, which I think makes it feel more special.
JOE BERMAN: Yes. No, I mean, I totally agree. They were super nice. Afterwards, we talked with them for a second. My brother and I had some awesome interactions with them. And it was one of the most welcoming environments I've been in.
ANDERSON: Yeah. Liwa Festival -- Liwa International Festival, we were talking about it earlier on today. I mean, this is an annual event about Emirati heritage and culture. Thousands of people attend that event at this time of the year. And you saw people camping, and they were in RVs. And they're really just getting a kind of immersion into, you know, just what goes on here.
(CROSSTALK)
J. BERMAN: And I will say, here in the city and then also all the way to the desert, what's the first question everyone asks, Teddy? It's like, have you been -- is this your first visit to Abu Dhabi?
T. BERMAN: Yes. They're always like, is this the first time to Abu Dhabi? And they're like, please come again. It's a very welcoming place. They want you here. It's just so joyful and so energetic.
ANDERSON: What surprised you most about -- I know you've only been here for 48 hours. We have done a lot. It has to be said. What surprised you most?
T. BERMAN: I mean, with the cities, you expect the grandeur. I mean, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, they're these massive cities on a global stage. But what you don't expect, what I didn't expect, was the natural beauty. So, I mean, you have the beach. You have the gulf. It's crystal blue water.
And another thing you have out in Liwa was the desert, the dunes. It's just so grandiose. They're so big. And they just tower over you. It's beautiful.
ANDERSON: And it's out in what's known as the Empty Quarter, of course, which sounds really romantic. And it's the vastness of that place. I mean, it took us three hours to drive there. Just explain, if you will, what you saw on the way. I mean, once you get out of the city, it's dunes, right? JOE BERMAN: Yeah, I mean, I think some of the other guests talked about it, but you can see why they filmed Star Wars and Dune in Abu Dhabi. And that's because of these massive, massive rolling dunes that are something out of Dune or Star Wars or even Lawrence of Arabia, which we're sad we didn't watch with our dad before coming here. But you can just tell the beauty of this place when you drive right through it.
J. BERMAN: It really is. You know, it's an incredible thing to see. And I will say, first of all, you're on your best behavior here. They're on their best behavior here, which is terrific.
JOE BERMAN: Always.
ANDERSON: A charming voice.
J. BERMAN: Not always behave like this. But Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, since we've been here, really does feel like it's all about family in general.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
J. BERMAN: Right before we came to air at 9 p.m. local time, there were fireworks at 9 p.m. local time. Why was that?
ANDERSON: Yes, because the families are out tonight. So the fireworks behind us here at 9 p.m. were for families with youngsters to give the kids an opportunity to celebrate New Year's Eve a little bit earlier than keeping them up until midnight, of course, which is wonderful. And the last sort of few years, I've noticed how often they're doing that. So you guys can now go to bed. No, these guys are old enough.
(LAUGH)
ANDERSON: These are young men these days. Well, listen, thank you. It's been wonderful having you here, you guys.
J. BERMAN: It was a tough booking.
ANDERSON: Yeah, yeah.
T. BERMAN: Thank you for having us.
J. BERMAN: Thank you.
ANDERSON: No, I mean, honestly, honestly. And you guys all learned the dance. But for our viewers, Al-Ayyala an expressive, traditional performance by men and boys who, as you see, they move in unison to what is a steady, drummed rhythm, all about the honor and the gallantry of Bedouin life. It's performed, of course, and we were talking about this, weren't we, at weddings and national holidays. And it's a traditional welcome for visiting heads of state. As a result, it's really become a symbol of national identity here in the UAE.
J. BERMAN: And it was a privilege to get to do it with them, and we appreciate inviting us in. ANDERSON: Right. We are back after this with another hour of CNN's special New Year's Eve covering from here in Abu Dhabi. See you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:59:50]
J. BERMAN: Welcome back to all of our viewers all around the world. We are having one heck of a party as we ring in the New Year every quarter of the globe. You are invited. I'm John Berman on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
ANDERSON: And I'm Becky Anderson with --
END
