Sydney, Edinburgh, Rio de Janeiro and Times Square are the best places in the world to celebrate the New Year if you want a huge public show. Tokyo is the pick for tradition, Las Vegas for a street party and Ko Pha-ngan for a beach party. Here are ten, with the facts you need before you book.
Updated October 11, 2026.
I have watched midnight from enough crowded places to know the pattern. The best celebrations give you a clear place to stand and a clear time to be there. The ones that fall apart are the ones where nobody tells the crowd where to go, a lot like the New Year resolutions that get broken by February.
Celebrate the New Year in Times Square, New York
The first Times Square ball drop took place on December 31, 1907, to welcome 1908. The current ball, the seventh, is 12.5 feet across and weighs more than 12,300 pounds, and it carries 5,280 Waterford Crystal panels, according to Wikipedia’s Times Square Ball article. The Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment run the event, and the official page promises a live, commercial-free webcast with the ball descending as midnight approaches.
The crowd is smaller than the legend. Wikipedia puts attendance at about 58,000 before COVID-19 restrictions, and the 2021–22 limit was 15,000. The U.S. TV show New Year’s Rockin’ Eve peaked at 25.6 million viewers in 2017–18. If you stand in the square, dress for the cold and plan for a long wait.
Celebrate the New Year in Sydney, Australia
Sydney fires its fireworks twice: at 9 p.m. and again at midnight, according to the official Sydney New Year’s Eve site. Wikipedia puts the in-person crowd at around 1.5 to 1.6 million. The official site lists 48 vantage points around the harbor, plus a separate ticketed option.
The show began in 1976 as part of the Festival of Sydney. The Harbour Bridge itself has been part of the show since 1996, and the 2024–25 event used nine tonnes of pyrotechnics launched from eight barges, on a budget of $6.3 million (Australian). Since 2023–24 the state government has abolished almost all paid viewing on Crown land. The Royal Botanic Garden and Taronga Zoo still sell tickets, run as charity events that benefit the garden and the zoo.
London, UK
London’s fireworks are organized by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority. The first show was for 2000, the 2001 event was canceled over safety concerns, and Wikipedia lists attendance above 100,000 in 2023–24. Titanium Fireworks has supplied the pyrotechnics since 2010.
The official viewing areas have charged for entry since 2014–15, when then-Mayor Boris Johnson introduced a £10 ticket, so check the Mayor’s page for current terms. The BBC, ITV and Sky News all broadcast the show, and the BBC streams it on YouTube, which makes London the easiest entry on this list to watch from your couch.
Paris, France
Paris is a romantic place to be at midnight, and the Champs-Élysées is where the city gathers. The avenue runs 1,910 meters (about 1.2 miles), and its holiday lights stay up from late November until early January. Wikipedia notes that large crowds occasionally gather there for New Year’s Eve.
Check the Paris tourism office’s current program before you book, since official plans change from year to year.
Ko Pha-ngan, Thailand
Ko Pha-ngan is the wildest entry here. The Full Moon Party began at Haad Rin in 1985, though Wikipedia says it may have started with an improvised party in 1983, and it draws between 5,000 and 30,000 people per full moon. It runs until sunrise.
The same page carries the warnings. Drug laws are strict and police enforcement rises during the parties. In recent years assaults and robberies have occurred at the party and nearby bars, the British government has advised caution, and bungalows are sometimes broken into while guests are out. Go with friends, and lock your room.
Celebrate the New Year in Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo marks the New Year with ritual instead of fireworks. At midnight on December 31, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times, with 107 rings on the 31st and the last one after midnight. The 108 rings stand for the 108 earthly temptations, according to Wikipedia’s Japanese New Year article.
The first Shinto shrine visit of the year is called hatsumōde, and the traditional osechi dishes were designed to keep without refrigeration. The holiday runs through January 4, and Wikipedia says most shops traditionally closed for it, so plan meals ahead.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Downtown Las Vegas is where the free party lives. The Fremont Street Experience is a pedestrian mall about 0.8 miles long, covered by a canopy roughly 1,375 feet long and 90 feet high at its peak. The 2019 upgrade put more than 49 million LEDs in the canopy, and it was unveiled on December 31, 2019.
Fremont Street has held a New Year’s party since December 31, 1995. Wikipedia says the concerts are usually free, with free nightly entertainment on three stages and light-and-sound shows from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.
Celebrate the New Year in Edinburgh, UK
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is a multi-day festival. The 1996–97 celebrations were recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest New Year’s party, with about 400,000 people, and numbers were later restricted for safety. The 2026–27 program on the official Edinburgh’s Hogmanay site starts with the Torchlight Procession on December 29 at 6:30 p.m., carried by 15,000 torch bearers and ticketed, and moves to the Street Party and the Hogmanay in the Gardens concert on December 31 at 8 p.m.
The Midnight Moment fireworks go off with Edinburgh Castle as the backdrop, and First Footin’ on January 1 is a free live music trail across the city. Weather can cancel the party: the 2006–07 celebrations were canceled on the day by high winds and heavy rain, and the 2024–25 event was canceled for high winds too. Book flexible travel.
Celebrate the New Year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
About 2 million people go to Copacabana Beach to watch the fireworks, according to Wikipedia. The first display there was in 1976, sponsored by a waterfront hotel, and in the 1990s it grew from roughly 8 to 10 minutes to about 20. The record crowd is much larger: a 1994 Rod Stewart concert on New Year’s Eve drew 4.5 million people, which Wikipedia calls the largest concert crowd ever.
White clothing has a documented root. Since the 1950s, small groups from the African-derived religions Candomblé and Umbanda have gathered on the beach dressed in white for ritual celebrations.
Berlin, Germany
Berlin’s big party centers on the Brandenburg Gate and the wide Straße des 17. Juni running west from it. Wikipedia says that on New Year’s Eve usually over a million people gather there to watch a stage show at the Gate and the fireworks at midnight.
Entry rules and the stage program change from year to year, so check the city’s visit page before you go.
Best places to celebrate the New Year: common questions
Which New Year’s Eve has the biggest crowd?
Rio and Sydney lead this list. About 2 million people go to Copacabana Beach for the fireworks, and Sydney draws around 1.5 to 1.6 million in person. Rio’s all-time record is a 1994 Rod Stewart concert that drew 4.5 million people. Times Square is far smaller, at about 58,000 before COVID-19 restrictions.
Do you need tickets for Hogmanay in Edinburgh?
Some events need them. The 2026–27 Torchlight Procession on December 29 is ticketed. The Street Party and Hogmanay in the Gardens concert on December 31 are listed in the program, but the page does not state their ticket status. First Footin’ on January 1 is a free live music trail. Check the official page for current status.
Why does Copacabana draw so many people?
The beach has hosted fireworks since 1976, when a waterfront hotel sponsored the first display. In the 1990s the show grew from roughly 8 to 10 minutes to about 20, and about 2 million people now go. A 1994 Rod Stewart concert on New Year’s Eve drew 4.5 million, which Wikipedia calls the largest concert crowd ever.
What is Joya no Kane in Japan?
It is the ringing of temple bells 108 times at midnight on December 31. Buddhist temples ring the bell 107 times on the 31st and once after midnight. The 108 rings represent the 108 earthly temptations, according to Wikipedia’s Japanese New Year article, and the sound is how Tokyo welcomes the year.