2.5 million people pack Rio beach for Guinness New Year record

Rio de Janeiro set a Guinness World Records mark after about 2.5 million people gathered on Copacabana Beach to welcome 2025, making it the largest New Year’s Eve celebration ever verified. The certification was presented days before the annual Reveillon during a beachfront ceremony attended by Mayor Eduardo Paes and Guinness representative Camila Borenstein. Guinness said attendance was confirmed through official data, aerial imagery and drone based counts, along with reviews of safety planning and large scale logistics along the urban coastline. City officials said the figure covers Copacabana alone. Total citywide attendance across multiple stages and concerts is estimated at about 5 million people. The Copacabana program featured three main stages, a 12 minute fireworks show from 19 floating platforms, and about 1,200 drones forming synchronized lights over the Atlantic. “Few cities in the world can organize events for this many people, year after year,” Paes said, proving that Rio’s biggest party is also a precision operation.