Copacabana Beach hosts Rio de Janeiro's Reveillon celebration, famous for crowds wearing white on New Year's Eve.
Reveillon is the Portuguese term commonly used in Brazil for New Year's Eve festivities. Rio's best-known celebration takes place along Copacabana Beach, where enormous crowds gather for concerts, ceremonies and a midnight fireworks display launched over the Atlantic. Wearing white is a widespread Brazilian New Year's custom associated with peace and renewal.
Many participants also make offerings or observe traditions connected with Afro-Brazilian religious practices, including honoring Iemanjá, the goddess or orixá associated with the sea in Candomblé and Umbanda contexts. Customs differ among participants, and the public celebration includes both secular and religious elements.
Copacabana is a neighborhood and beach in Rio de Janeiro, while Ipanema is a separate nearby beach. Both are famous, but the signature mass Reveillon gathering is associated with Copacabana. Attendance figures vary by year and counting method.