Largest millennium parties
- Who
- Millennium parties
- When
- 31 December 1999
The largest millennium parties were held in London, UK, New York City, USA, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In London, 3.5 million people lined 12 km 7.5 miles of the Thames riverbank from Tower Bridge to Vauxhall Bridge at midnight to see a 15–minute fireworks display which took place on 16 barges moored along the river. The fireworks were covered by 54 television networks from around the world and were the largest display of its kind in the world, requiring over 30.5 tonnes 30 tons of pyrotechnics. The all-day celebrations, which began at 11am and lasted until 2am, actually drew an estimated five million people in total and included two funfairs, a multi-cultural arts festival, four live-performance stages, 50 live bands and musicians and three giant video screens.
The millennium celebrations in New York drew a live crowd of 3 million people in and around Times Square who gathered to watch a 1.8 m 6 ft wide, 485 kg 1,070 lb Waterford crystal ball drop down a 23.5 m 77 ft flagpole, triggering fireworks and 4.1 tonnes 4 tons of confetti. The festivities ran for 24 hours with a different show every hour representing the arrival of the millennium in each of the world's time zones. It was the longest continuously running performance in New York's history and featured live music, giant puppets, video broadcasts from around the globe and over 500 performers. The party was estimated to have cost $7 million (£4.3 million) and produced over 30.5 tonnes 30 tons of garbage.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hosted different firework displays on a number of its beaches, attracting an overall crowd of four million people. The largest was that at Copacabana where 3 million people turned up along a 12.9 km 8 mile stretch of beach to join in the celebrations. Fireworks were launched from an offshore barge, five locations on the sand and from two forts either end of the beach. Three giant sound stages were erected as well as a 100 m 328 ft high resolution screen and the proceedings were broadcast around the world.
In London, 3.5 million people lined 12 km 7.5 miles of the Thames riverbank from Tower Bridge to Vauxhall Bridge at midnight to see a 15–minute fireworks display which took place on 16 barges moored along the river. The fireworks were covered by 54 television networks from around the world and were the largest display of its kind in the world, requiring over 30.5 tonnes 30 tons of pyrotechnics. The all-day celebrations, which began at 11am and lasted until 2am, actually drew an estimated five million people in total and included two funfairs, a multi-cultural arts festival, four live-performance stages, 50 live bands and musicians and three giant video screens.
The millennium celebrations in New York drew a live crowd of 3 million people in and around Times Square who gathered to watch a 1.8 m 6 ft wide, 485 kg 1,070 lb Waterford crystal ball drop down a 23.5 m 77 ft flagpole, triggering fireworks and 4.1 tonnes 4 tons of confetti. The festivities ran for 24 hours with a different show every hour representing the arrival of the millennium in each of the world's time zones. It was the longest continuously running performance in New York's history and featured live music, giant puppets, video broadcasts from around the globe and over 500 performers. The party was estimated to have cost $7 million (£4.3 million) and produced over 30.5 tonnes 30 tons of garbage.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, hosted different firework displays on a number of its beaches, attracting an overall crowd of four million people. The largest was that at Copacabana where 3 million people turned up along a 12.9 km 8 mile stretch of beach to join in the celebrations. Fireworks were launched from an offshore barge, five locations on the sand and from two forts either end of the beach. Three giant sound stages were erected as well as a 100 m 328 ft high resolution screen and the proceedings were broadcast around the world.