New Year's Eve in Copacabana will feature everything from gospel music to funk, MPB, and samba

With 13 stages spread across the city, the celebration will offer a variety of attractions This year's New Year's Eve celebration in Rio de Janeiro aims to include everyone. With 13 stages set up around the city, a new addition will be a stage dedicated to gospel music in Leme, located in the city's South Zone. Thalles Roberto, the Latin Grammy winner for Best Portuguese Language Christian Album in 2024, will headline this event. The celebration will feature a wide range of performances, from Brazilian Popular Music (MPB) icons Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia to the local funk star Anitta, as well as Ivete Sangalo. In 2025: The Book Biennial will be revamped, featuring new attractions and even a literary Ferris wheel; discover the details G20 legacy: The Museum of Modern Art to reopen to the public on December 1st with exhibition and guided tours The fireworks display is set to dazzle both locals and tourists. The 12-minute show will launch from ten barges along Copacabana's shoreline, utilizing new technologies to make the light spectacle unforgettable. Additional pyrotechnic shows are planned for Flamengo and the Penha Church. Three stages The Copacabana festivities, the most traditional New Year's Eve event in Rio and one of the world's most famous, will feature three stages: the Rio Stage, the Samba Stage, and the Leme Stage. Those wishing to see Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia perform will need to arrive early. The siblings are scheduled to take the Rio Stage, in front of the Copacabana Palace, starting at 8 p.m. Ivete Sangalo will follow their performance. After the fireworks, Anitta will be the first act of 2025. Discussing the schedule, artist choices, and the introduction of the gospel stage, Mayor Eduardo Paes expressed his desire for "everyone in Copacabana to be happy, regardless of their beliefs." The Rio Stage, the main stage along the beachfront, also embraces diversity in its lineup. — The performance by Caetano and Bethânia is for an audience that prefers to arrive early. It will be a more tranquil and calm show. Following them, we have Ivete Sangalo and Anitta. It's also worth reminding those who might be offended by some acts: Anitta's show will be later, and no one is obliged to watch anything. I recall many complaints about certain aspects of Madonna's show. The city administration will not censor any artist's artistic freedom during their performance — assured Paes. Just over a month ago, in October, the mayor used his social media profile to announce some of the acts for the celebration. The announcement created a buzz among the public, dividing those already planning to attend and those still suggesting additions to the lineup. Patrick Corrêa, president of Riotur, stated that the early announcement is a strategy to attract more tourists: — Last year, the various stages around the city attracted five million people, and we had an 87% hotel occupancy rate. This year, we aim to surpass those numbers and achieve 100% occupancy. This will be the first New Year's Eve to feature a stage dedicated to religious music. According to the mayor, this is a way to cater to the diverse population of Rio. — We know we have a significant evangelical community in the city. New Year's Eve is a celebration for all religions and all our people — he declared. For DJ Marcelo Araújo, one of the featured acts, the inclusion of gospel performances at New Year's Eve has long been anticipated: — New Year's Eve signifies renewal, a fresh start. It will be wonderful to have a gospel event in the neighborhood. The celebration will also take place at ten other locations throughout the city. In Inhoaíba and Realengo, the festivities will occur for the first time. The complete program will be released in the coming weeks, but some acts are already confirmed, including Dudu Nobre at Madureira Park, Pique Novo at Realengo Park, and Swing e Simpatia at West Park in Inhoaíba. Fireworks display Entrepreneur Marcelo Kokote, overseeing the fireworks show for the seventh time, reveals one of the innovations is a change to the traditional "waterfall" display, which has been a staple of the celebrations. This new feature will be imported from Japan: — Traditionally, the cascades are gold-colored. A new type of firework, manufactured in Japan, offers a colorful version. This effect will be showcased in Brazil for the first time. The plan is to detonate these fireworks at higher altitudes while deploying red-colored fireworks closer to the barges. Additionally, we have other surprises in store. As in previous years, the fireworks are designed to be quieter. DJ and music producer Daniel Lopes will once again be responsible for the soundtrack, which is still being assembled. At the transition to 2024, Lopes surprised the audience by dedicating a part of the show and music to singer Rita Lee, who passed away in 2023. The fireworks setup is expected to begin in Copacabana just before Christmas. Preparations require several safety measures, such as emptying the fuel tanks of the barges and removing any flammable substances. The final inspection by the Port Authority, to clear the vessels, is scheduled for December 30. The ten vessels will be positioned along Copacabana on December 31. They will be anchored 450 meters from the beach, maintaining a 275-meter distance between them. The detonations will be conducted via an electronic system controlled by satellite. The arrival of 2025 will also be celebrated with fireworks in Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the West Zone of Rio, at 12 locations, organized by HotéisRIO. These will be distributed among hotels, condominiums, and shopping centers. Traffic and security The traffic and public safety plan will be released next month, but some measures implemented in recent years are expected to continue. One such measure is blocking access to Copacabana, including routes through Ipanema, Lagoa (Corte de Cantagalo), Túnel Velho, and Enseada de Botafogo, starting the night of December 31. The police are likely to set up checkpoints on streets leading to the beachfront, with public searches, as has been done in previous years. The translation of this text into english was carried out by Project Irineu, O GLOBO's initiative to develop artificial intelligence tools. Here is the link to the original report.