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Popular festival · Rio de Janeiro
The New Year’s Eve celebration on Copacabana Beach, featuring performances on stages set up on the sand and fireworks launched from barges along the shoreline.
In the photo: Rio de Janeiro
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
On the night of December 31 to January 1.
December
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
On the night of December 31, Copacabana Beach hosts Rio de Janeiro’s main New Year’s Eve party. The city sets up stages on the sand, with shows during the evening and after midnight, and the fireworks are launched from barges spread out in the sea along the entire shore.
Many people wear white and observe sea-related traditions, such as jumping seven waves at the stroke of midnight. The festivities also spread to other neighborhoods, with stages and fireworks at spots like Flamengo and the Igreja da Penha.
Arrive early to choose a spot on the sand or on the promenade. In the hours before midnight, car traffic in the neighborhood is closed, and the subway and buses operate on a special schedule published by the city in the days before the event.
To see the fireworks with less crowding, the sections near Leme and Posto 6 tend to be calmer than the center of the beach.
Copacabana gets very busy in the last week of the year. Book accommodation well in advance; many hotels require a minimum stay during this period.
In the city
Flavors of Brazil
December
Your questions
On Copacabana Beach, where barges launch the fireworks along the shore. There are also displays in other neighborhoods, such as Flamengo and Penha.
It’s a New Year’s tradition in Brazil associated with peace and wishes for the coming year. Jumping seven waves at midnight is another common beach custom.
Festivals and events in Brazil
JanuaryOn January 20, the day of the city’s patron saint, which is a municipal holiday in Rio de Janeiro.
The patron saint’s day in Rio de Janeiro, with masses and a procession that carries the saint’s image from Tijuca to the Metropolitan Cathedral in the city center.
February/MarchIn February or March, depending on the Carnival calendar, which changes each year with the date of Easter.
The samba school parades at the Marquês de Sapucaí Sambadrome and the street blocos scattered around the city during Carnival days.
May/JuneIn the days leading up to Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Easter; therefore it falls in May or June.
Paraty’s most traditional religious festival, with a novena, processions through the historic center, and a solemn Mass followed by a procession on Pentecost Sunday.
June/JulyBetween late June and early July, always including June 29, German Settler Day, a municipal holiday in Petrópolis.
Petrópolis’s German Settler festival, featuring traditional German food and beer, folk dance groups, and events around the Crystal Palace.
June/SeptemberEvery two years, in odd-numbered years; generally in September, sometimes in June. · Every two years
The major book fair of Rio de Janeiro held every two years, with publisher booths, author events, and programming for children and young people.
July/AugustOnce a year, between the second half of July and the beginning of August, during winter break.
The Sesc winter festival in the Mountain Region, with concerts, theater, dance and circus at Sesc Quitandinha, in Itaipava and other venues in Petrópolis.
