São Paulo stages its massive New Year's Eve celebration along Avenida Paulista.
Avenida Paulista is one of Brazil's best-known avenues and a major cultural, business, and transportation corridor in São Paulo. For the city's Réveillon celebration, sections of the avenue have hosted large public gatherings, concerts, and midnight fireworks. The event is distinct from Rio de Janeiro's celebration at Copacabana Beach.
The avenue opened in 1891 and was historically associated with the mansions of São Paulo's coffee-growing elite. Over time, it became lined with office towers, museums, cultural centers, and shopping facilities. Its central location and broad roadway make it suitable for a large open-air celebration.
The city name is sometimes written “Sao Paulo” without the diacritics in English-language material, but the Portuguese spelling is São Paulo. Avenida Paulista should not be confused with Avenida Atlântica, the road beside Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Those are separate New Year's Eve landmarks in different Brazilian cities.