New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro
Fireworks at the Copacabana
Imagine a festival with multiple stages and a crowd of 2 million on the famous beach Copacabana. Everybody is dressed in white and as midnight approaches, turns their faces towards the Atlantic Ocean. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…Happy New Year!
The fireworks in Rio de Janeiro last a total of 12 minutes and brighten up the night sky over a crowd of locals and foreigners that mingle over beers and caipirinhas.
When Charlie spent new year’s in Rio there was also a bloco after midnight that went along the Copacabana and finished at Arpoador at sunrise. The blocos are a carnival tradition and usually involve a truck with a stage and live performers that slowly moves along the road and is followed by a crowd of people. It was Charlie’s understanding that it was the first time for a bloco to happen for the new year.
There was also a lightshow with drones over the ocean at around 3 a.m. which Charlie only found out about the next morning. That would have been great to see.
Dressed up in white
It is tradition, not only in Rio, but in all of Brazil, to dress in white for the last night of the year. It originated in the African religions that had an influence on modern Brazilian culture and is nowadays a tradition that spreads across all spiritual beliefs. Apart from a few exceptions, everybody did indeed wear white that night at the Copacabana.
In good company on New Year’s Eve in Rio
Of course, you wouldn’t want to spend New Year’s Eve on your own, even in a crowd of 2 million. Charlie had multiple options for company that night due to the different communities she was already a part of in Rio de Janeiro. Some of the digital nomads planned to join a concert on the beach, others wanted to meet for drinks and join the bloco after midnight. It is also very common in Rio for New Year’s Eve celebrations on the beach to last until sunrise.
There was also an exclusive party in a club that many of the digital nomads joined, Charlie however preferred to spend the night with fellow language students from Caminhos Language Centre. She liked that the meeting point was in front of the school as that seemed like a sure option to find each other. She has no idea how they would have done that on the beach. They spent most of the night near posto 5.
Food and drinks at the Copacabana
On the way to the beach, they stopped at a shop to get drinks to take with them. That is okay, as long as it is not in a glass container. The cachaça had to be filled into empty water bottles made of plastic before they passed the security point. They had coolers to keep the drinks cold throughout the night.
There were also food and drink vendors all along the beach and it was easy to get a refill once Charlie had run out of drinks. It was certainly the cheapest New Year’s Eve she had had in a while. She spent around 10 pounds that night.
There were mobile toilets too along the beach and almost no wait time. The most challenging thing was to find the group again on the beach after a toilet and drink-refill tour. One group next to them had a mickey mouse balloon that Charlie used as a reference point. What a genius idea to bring a balloon!
Safety on New Year’s Eve in Rio
Safety is a big concern on a night like New Year’s. That was another reason why Charlie preferred to join the group of language students. They were joined by some locals and the tour guides who could provide tips for safety. As always in Rio, Charlie left her main phone at home and took the secondary phone. She had also been recommended to not bring too much money to the beach and in small bills.
It is tradition in Rio to go in the water after midnight and jump over seven waves which was not recommended that night. Safety warnings had been issued throughout the day because of big waves and strong currents. Charlie only got her feet wet which was almost unavoidable due to the rising tide.
For the way home, Charlie walked along the beach with two other girls until they reached a point where they could get an Uber. As expected, that was tricky, but they eventually got one and made it home safely.
