Copacabana Beach is the centerpiece of New Year's Eve celebrations in Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana district.
Rio's Réveillon celebration brings enormous crowds to the beach for concerts, ceremonies, and fireworks over the Atlantic Ocean. Many attendees wear white, a color commonly associated with peace and renewal, and some people make offerings connected with Afro-Brazilian religious traditions. Boats offshore often serve as platforms for the fireworks display.
Copacabana Beach is one of Rio de Janeiro's best-known urban beaches and stretches along the Atlantic-facing neighborhood of the same name. Ipanema Beach is another famous Rio landmark, but it is not the beach named in this celebration's title. Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer are iconic city sights that may appear in images of Rio, yet neither is the physical setting of the main Copacabana New Year's Eve gathering.