An exclusive vantage of the largest New Year’s Eve celebration worldwide

A spectacle of astonishing proportion—New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro draws local and international celebrants to the world famous Copacabana Beach. A few days ago, more than 2.6 million people swept onto this sandy strip for the annual festivities known as Réveillon. Here attendees—many of whom dressed head to toe in white, as per tradition—danced and sang aloud around stages, where star-studded sets included an hour-and-a-half long performance from Brazilian pop icon Anitta and another from the legendary singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso and his sister Maria Bethânia. As a centerpiece to the all-night affair, a fireworks display set the skies ablaze for twelve minutes. Positioned at the heart of it all, the Copacabana Palace, a Belmond Hotel hosted a dazzling party with an eagle-eye view of the revelers, and offered VIP access to the main stage and its talent.

The Copacabana Palace, a Belmond Hotel granted more than a panoramic view of the explosive light show, which fanned out over the water in both directions. Guests were treated to a lavish champagne reception, dinner within the property’s Pérgula restaurant, their own dedicated bridge over the street and directly to the main performance stage with a VIP area, and a poolside dance party with DJs long after the marquee performances on the beach concluded. For anyone looking to participate in the immensity of the occasion, but avoid the crowding, it was as central an oasis as possible.

An icon of the city and a protected cultural institution, the Copacabana Palace opened its doors in 1923—and recently celebrated its centenary. French architect Joseph Gire designed the hotel, blending French Riviera inspiration from Nice’s Le Negresco and The Carlton in Cannes with local touches. Thanks to its glamorous Copa Ball during Carnival to its New Year’s Eve party, as well as its swathe of celebrity clientele throughout the years, the hotel has long been associated with celebration.

The numbers around the 2024/2025 Réveillon set records for what Brazil reports as the largest New Year’s Eve party worldwide, with more than five million people celebrating throughout Rio de Janeiro. This year’s Copacabana Beach extravaganza featured the event’s largest stage in history, rising eight stories. Further, it took ten barges to host all of the fireworks, which coalesced into more than 35,000 pyrotechnic shots synchronized to music that was heard throughout the city. All of the numbers fail to represent the magnitude of feelings conjured by New Year’s Eve in Rio, a sensory dream of shared awe.