ATHENS, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Greek revelers ushered in the New Year with music concerts and firework shows with the main open air party held on Sunday night at the foot of the Acropolis hill in the heart of Athens.

Thousands of people gathered in many central squares across the country to ring in 2018, singing along and dancing to the rhythm of music performed by renowned local artists.

Political leaders and ordinary citizens wished for peace and prosperity across the world and exit from the for which has suffered since late 2009.

Under the timetable, the bailout program the country signed with international lenders in the summer of 2015, the third since 2010, will end this summer.

"The past teaches us. The present makes us stronger. The future unites us in order to conquer what is rightfully ours," Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said in his emailed message for the New Year.

"We have left the darkness behind ... We are finally leaving behind the era of supervision, of tough measures and humiliation. And this is a very good reason to be optimistic that 2018 will be a good year for our country and our people," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in his message for the New Year.