Rio de Janeiro is famous for its New Year's Eve fireworks and white-clad crowds on Copacabana Beach.
Rio's Réveillon celebration centers on the waterfront, especially Copacabana Beach. Large crowds gather in white clothing, a color traditionally associated with peace and renewal. Fireworks are launched over the water, creating one of the world's best-known New Year's Eve beach spectacles.
The celebration also reflects Brazilian religious and cultural traditions. Some participants make offerings to Iemanjá, the Afro-Brazilian orixá associated with the sea, while others enter the water or jump seven waves as a symbolic way to invite luck. Practices differ among individuals and communities.
Copacabana's celebration is not Brazil's only New Year's event, and attendance figures vary by year and by source. Rio is identified with the beach gathering because of its scale, setting, music, fireworks, and highly visible national and international broadcasts.