New Year's Eve in Rio de Janeiro 2026/27 for groups

What is known now

By October 9, 2026, Rio’s city government (Prefeitura) and its tourism company Riotur had not announced the 2026/27 program: stages, artists, the fireworks, road closures and the metro plan are all still open. Last time, the city published its traffic and transport plan on December 26, five days before the party. We update this page when the official plan comes out.

What is already fixed:

• December 31, 2026 is a Thursday. January 1, 2027 is a national public holiday in Brazil and falls on a Friday, with the weekend right after it.
• The city’s contract with SRCOM, the company that produces the event, covers three editions: 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27.
• The Copacabana Palace hotel has announced its own paid party for 2026/27.

What happened last time (2025/26)

These are the city’s figures for the last edition. They give a sense of scale for planning; the 2026/27 figures will only be known after the party.

On the main stage, Gilberto Gil and Ney Matogrosso played at 20:00, Belo and Alcione at 22:30, João Gomes and Iza right after midnight, then DJ Alok, and the Beija-Flor samba school closed the night at 03:30. Guinness World Records recognized Rio’s party as the largest New Year’s Eve celebration in the world, based on a count of 2.5 million people on Copacabana in 2024/25.

Road closures and transport last time

The rules below come from the city’s 2025/26 plan. The 2026/27 plan may differ, and we check the final version as soon as the city publishes it.

Traffic:

• From 06:00 on December 30, parking was banned along Avenida Atlântica, with staggered bans on other streets until 21:00 on January 2.
• From 00:00 on December 31, charter buses, minibuses and vans could not enter or park in Copacabana and Leme.
• From 07:00 on December 31, Avenida Atlântica was closed along its whole length, Leme included.
• From 19:00, only regular buses and taxis could enter Copacabana; ride-hailing cars were kept out from the same hour.
• From 21:00, all vehicle access to Copacabana was closed.
• From 05:00 on January 1, access reopened, with part of Avenida Atlântica still closed.

Metro (MetrôRio):

• From 19:00 on December 31 to 05:00 on January 1, the metro accepted only a special New Year’s pass: R$15 for the round trip, with a QR code. Regular cards and contactless payment did not work in that window.
• The pass had to be bought in advance. When buying, you picked a time slot for the trip to Copacabana (19:00, 20:00, 21:00, 22:00 or 23:00). One purchase covered up to 10 passes. From December 22, sales were online only, and they closed at 18:00 on December 31 or earlier if the passes sold out.
• For the way back, a wristband given at entry allowed boarding at any time between 00:00 and 05:00 at Cardeal Arcoverde, Siqueira Campos, Cantagalo, General Osório and Jardim Oceânico. Cardeal Arcoverde station was exit-only from 19:00 to midnight.

Buses: after 21:00 and until 05:00, all bus departures from the area left from the Terminal Enseada de Botafogo.

For a group, this means a coach cannot bring people into Copacabana at all on December 31. There are three workable options: a hotel in Copacabana or Leme within walking distance of the beach; metro passes for the right time slot, bought in several purchases for a large group; or a coach to a drop-off point outside the closed area and a walk in with a guide.

Where to celebrate

Other stages in the city

Copacabana had three of the city’s 13 stages last time. The other ten were in Flamengo, Penha, Parque Oeste, Realengo, Madureira, Ramos, Sepetiba, Pedra de Guaratiba, Ilha do Governador and on Paquetá island. These ten locations shared the rest of the 5.1 million people the city counted, so each had a much smaller crowd than Copacabana. The list of stages for 2026/27 has not been announced.

On the sand

The concerts and the fireworks on the beach are free. Last time, people reached the sand through 17 pedestrian entry points with security checks, and glass containers, fireworks and large containers were not allowed. A group on the sand needs a fixed meeting point and a set time to regroup after midnight.

Kiosk parties on the beachfront

The kiosks along the beachfront in Copacabana, Leme, Ipanema and Leblon hold paid parties with live music or DJs and food, and some include an open bar. Bookings go through the kiosks’ own channels and ticket platforms. Last time, according to Riotur, entry started at R$150 and packages with dinner and an open bar cost R$950 to R$1,400. Prices for 2026/27 have not been published.

Hotels, restaurants and rooftops

Hotels and restaurants along Avenida Atlântica run paid dinners and parties, and the Copacabana Palace has already announced its 2026/27 event. Prices, minimum spends and availability vary by venue, so we check them for your dates and group size.

On a boat

Watching the fireworks from the sea is possible only on vessels that have passed the inspection of the Capitania dos Portos, the Brazilian Navy’s port authority. For 2024/25, the inspection ran until December 30 and covered documents, safety equipment and passenger capacity; on December 31, every skipper took a breathalyzer test. Last time, vessels without special authorization could not enter the zone around the fireworks barges from 18:00 to 02:00. We book only boats that have passed the inspection for the date.

White clothes and the seven waves

The celebration on Copacabana beach goes back to the early 1950s, when followers of Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian religion, started gathering there on New Year’s Eve; the movement began with the Umbanda priest and samba musician Tata Tancredo Silva. They dressed in white and brought offerings to Iemanjá, the orixá of the sea: flowers, candles, champagne, fruit and small boats sent out on the water. They also jumped seven waves and made wishes. White clothes and the seven waves later became a custom for everyone on the beach.

The first fireworks display on Copacabana was organized in 1987 by the Le Méridien hotel, now a Hilton. Today the religious procession for Iemanjá takes place separately, a few days before New Year’s Eve. In 2024 it left the Mercadão de Madureira market on December 28 and reached Copacabana by 17:00, where boats with flowers went out to sea at sunset.

Safety

The city puts on a large operation for the night. Last time, it included:

• 7,500 city workers from 11 agencies;
• around 700 cameras across the city, 307 of them on Copacabana, and 78 military police observation towers on the beach;
• 4 field medical posts on Avenida Atlântica with 48 beds, 50 water points and 30 ambulances, working from 17:30 on December 31 to 05:00 on January 1; about 500 people received medical care on Copacabana that night;
• identification wristbands for children, handed out by city social workers at all 13 stages.

The Government of Canada warns that petty crime increases around big events and festivities in Brazil and that incidents of spiked food and drinks are increasing, particularly in Rio de Janeiro. Our briefing for groups follows that advice: leave passports in the hotel safe and carry a copy, take little cash and one card, never leave a drink unattended, and agree a meeting point and a time before the group goes onto the sand.

Group logistics

The plan for a group starts with the hotel. Inside Copacabana or Leme, the group walks to the beach and back. Outside, every movement depends on the closures and the metro pass windows.

• Arrival in Rio: we schedule airport transfers for December 30 or earlier where possible, since charter vehicles are barred from Copacabana and Leme on the 31st.
• Dinner: with a kiosk party or a hotel dinner, the group eats at the same place where it watches the fireworks.
• Getting in: on foot from the hotel, by metro with passes for one time slot, or by coach to a drop-off outside the closed area.
• Getting back: we split the return into two or three waves, so people who want to leave after the fireworks do not wait for those who stay for the late concerts.
• January 1: a late start. Access to Copacabana reopened at 05:00 last time, and the day is a public holiday, so we keep that day’s program light.

What we take care of: we book the hotel rooms, the kiosk party, the restaurant or hotel dinner, or a boat that has passed the Capitania dos Portos inspection. We plan the route in and out of Copacabana around the closures and arrange metro passes for the right time slots when the group travels by metro. A guide goes with the group, holds the meeting point and handles the return waves. You have one contact on our team throughout the night and the days around it.

Our deposit for New Year’s Eve is non-refundable after you confirm the booking, because places, tables and boats are reserved for your group. The other terms and the payment schedule are set out in the proposal, and you pay nothing before you confirm.

For travel agencies

Last time, the city’s traffic and transport plan came out on December 26, five days before the party, and hotels in Copacabana and Leme ended up 91.83% occupied for the holiday. For agency groups we therefore confirm hotels, venues and boats early, plan on the basis of last year’s rules, and adjust the transport once the official 2026/27 plan is published. Any change that the new rules force on the program is agreed with you before it happens.

Travel agencies selling New Year’s Eve to their groups can find our terms on the page For travel agencies. For transfers on the days around the party, see Group transfers in Rio.