Huge New Year's Eve crowds in Rio de Janeiro traditionally gather on Copacabana Beach.
The celebration is known as Réveillon de Copacabana and combines beach parties, concerts, fireworks, and religious or cultural offerings. Spectators commonly dress in white, a color associated with peace and renewal in Brazilian New Year's traditions.
Fireworks are launched over the Atlantic, often from boats positioned offshore, creating a display visible along the broad waterfront. The event attracts enormous crowds and is one of Brazil's best-known international celebrations.
Copacabana is sometimes confused with Ipanema because both are famous Rio beaches in the same city. Ipanema is also a major tourist landmark, but the iconic mass New Year's Eve gathering and its headline fireworks are most strongly associated with Copacabana Beach.