Rio to replace New Year’s Eve party with online broadcasts and light shows

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall announced its plans today for a virtual New Year’s Eve celebration, with an online broadcast of artists performing remotely all over town, and a light show that will be seen across the city’s skyline.  

The traditional fireworks show at Copacabana beach will not go ahead, due to concerns about spreading Covid-19 among a large crowd. As one of the most sought-after New Year’s destinations in the world, the Copacabana fireworks display attracted around three million people from all over the world last year.

This time, however, the idea will be to have Rio de Janeiro citizens following the online celebrations from their own homes. Artists will perform from remote locations inaccessible to large crowds, such as the top of the Corcovado mountain — alongside the Christ the Redeemer statue — and Parque Madureira. There will also be a light show at midnight, which will be slightly shorter than the traditional fireworks display.

Rio de Janeiro City Mayor Marcelo Crivella also plans to hold a moment of silence in honor of Covid-19 victims worldwide before the virtual party commences.

As previously covered by The Brazilian Report on July 17, the São Paulo City administration decided to cancel their New Year’s party on Paulista Avenue — the country’s second-largest New Year’s Eve celebration, with over 2 million participants in 2019 — as it would pose too great of a risk to the population.

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