The Line Up for New Year’s Eve 2017 in Rio de Janeiro Announced

By Sarah Brown, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Monday, December 19th, the City of Rio de Janeiro announced the schedule of the New Year’s Eve in Copacabana and other parts of the city to celebrate the arrival of 2017. The Ano Novo (New Year) celebrations, referred to as Réveillon, in Rio are arguably the most impressive in the world.

As every year, there will be parties in Copacabana, Barra da Tijuca, Parque Madureira, Flamengo, Ilha do Governador, Piscinão de Ramos, Penha, Paquetá, Sepetiba and Pedra de Guaratiba with plenty of music and fireworks.

In Copacabana, the fireworks show will begin at midnight on the first second of 2017 and will be synchronized to music. The fireworks will be set off from eleven ferries at sea, by computers from a command base on Avenida Atlantica.

“Copacabana’s New Year’s Eve is the biggest open-air party in the world. It is also one of the most exciting and democratic events. And for sure it will be, once again, unforgettable,” said the Secretary of Tourism of the city, Antonio Pedro Figueira de Mello.

With an estimated audience of two million people, the night in Copacabana will start at 6PM with singer Alex Cohen, who will bring his eclectic repertoire of music and dancing to the stage, mixing his oldest influences with songs from back in the day.

One of the biggest names from the music scene in Rio, DJ MAM will be presenting after Cohen. MAM won the Rio Night award for best MPB/Regional DJ in 2012 and 2014, and is also the author of Redemptor, the theme song of Christ’s 80th anniversary celebration.

The program will follow with singer Leo Jaime, who celebrates his 32-year career with the Leo Guanabara show, in which he recalls his musical successes and tells the stories behind the songs and backstage moments of Rock Brasil.

In addition to playing big hits such as Rock Estrela (Rock Star), As Sete Vampiras (The Seven Vampires), Solange, Sônia, Nada Mudou (Nothing Changed) and A Fórmula do Amor (The Formula of Love), he will also present new works and classics of friends and idols that influenced him such as Legião Urbana, Stones, Raimundos, The Cure, Leoni and Marina, among others.

The main show will celebrate twenty years of Elba Ramalho, Alceu Valença and Geraldo Azevedo. One of the most acclaimed shows of Brazilian music, the trio bring together a promise of art, unity and good vibrations transmitted all across the world as they play classic songs and new ones too.

To close the night, there will be a double dose of Carnival. The samba schools Unidos da Tijuca and Mangueira will put everyone in the mood to dance samba until dawn. Unidos da Tijuca will warm the audience with the sambas that helped them win so many titles for the school and Mangueira, champion of Carnival 2016, promises to close the party in style with an unforgettable performance.

But the arrival of 2017 is not exclusive to Copacabana, as nine other districts of the city will celebrate New Year’s Eve with performances on stage, starting from 7:30 PM.

Those looking for a quieter New Year’s Eve in Zona Sul (South Zone) can enjoy the celebration in Flamengo on the stage set up in front of Rua Dois de Dezembro. This year the event will feature presentations by Luiz Kiari, Vtrix, and the São Clemente and Salgueiro samba schools.

In Barra da Tijuca, there will be various fireworks on the beach that will last between 3 and 12 minutes and will be placed in areas of maximum visibility.