New Year’s Eve 2026 in Copenhagen

By the ULTIMATE Copenhagen Editorial Team

Midnight on City Hall Square

Visit Copenhagen names City Hall Square, Rådhuspladsen, as the main gathering point for the midnight countdown: crowds fill the square in front of the City Hall, the clock strikes twelve, the bells ring in the new year, and fireworks go up across the skyline. The evening is also broadcast on Danish television from the square. There is no ticket; the square simply fills, and it is at its busiest in the minutes either side of midnight.

For a wider view, Visit Copenhagen suggests Dronning Louises Bro and the Lakes, where the fireworks over the city are reflected in the water. Private fireworks are allowed in Denmark only on 31 December and 1 January, so the display is the whole city’s, not one organiser’s.

Our advice: if you want the square, arrive well before 11.30pm and agree a meeting point first; if you prefer room to breathe, walk to Dronning Louises Bro.

Visit Copenhagen: New Year’s Eve in Copenhagen →

Tivoli: New Year concerts and fireworks over the Gardens

Christmas in Tivoli runs from 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, so the Gardens are open on New Year’s Eve. The fireworks go up over the Gardens on 31 December at 11pm, included with Tivoli entry; Tivoli suggests watching from in front of the Open Air Stage, by the Glass Hall entrances or at Nimb. They may be cancelled in poor visibility or extreme weather.

In the Tivoli Concert Hall, the New Year’s Eve concert plays on 30 December at 7.30pm and on 31 December at 12.30pm and 3.30pm: the Tivoli Copenhagen Phil under Steven Moore, with the singers Isabel Schwartzbach and Christian Lund, in Strauss, Lumbye, operetta and musical hits from West Side Story to The Merry Widow. Tickets are 275–795 DKK, with Tivoli entry, and the show runs about two hours.

Tivoli’s restaurants, among them Glassalen, Fru Nimb and Nimb Brasserie, serve New Year’s Eve menus, booked through Tivoli’s New Year page. Our advice: take the 3.30pm concert, have dinner in the Gardens, and stay for the fireworks at eleven.

Tivoli: New Year in Tivoli Gardens →   Tivoli: New Year’s Eve concert →   Tivoli: New Year’s Eve fireworks →

The New Year’s Concert at the Opera House

The Royal Danish Theatre’s New Year’s Concert fills the Main Stage of the Opera House on Holmen three times: Wednesday 30 December at 7pm, and Thursday 31 December at noon and at 5.45pm. Evan Rogister conducts, with the Royal Danish Opera soprano Sofie Elkjær Jensen and the actor Ellen Hillingsøe as host, in music from Mozart, Strauss and Lumbye to Sibelius, Grieg, Carl Nielsen, Bernstein and Thomas Adès.

The concert lasts two hours and tickets are 255–1,495 DKK. On 31 December there is sparkling wine in the interval, and the King’s New Year address is shown live on the big screen. Our advice: the 5.45pm performance on New Year’s Eve gives you the speech, the music and still time for dinner.

Royal Danish Theatre: New Year’s Concert 2026 →

New Year’s dinners: Portside, Tivoli Hotel and d’Angleterre

Comwell Copenhagen Portside, in Nordhavn, opens on Thursday 31 December at 5.45pm with bubbles, snacks and the King’s speech, then serves a six-course dinner with the sommelier’s wine pairing; a DJ plays in the lobby, champagne and kransekage arrive at midnight, and the music runs to 1.30am. It costs 2,750 DKK per person, prepaid; a stay with breakfast on 1 January 2027 is from 3,775 DKK per person sharing.

Tivoli Hotel’s New Year packages begin at 6pm in the foyer with the King’s address, sparkling wine and snacks. Harlequin is a five-course dinner in the Tivoli View Restaurant on the 11th floor; Columbine, for families, is a starter and buffet in Tivoli Brasserie. Both end with kransekage and bubbles at midnight. The hotel prices them with the room, on request.

For a quieter night, Hotel d’Angleterre on Kongens Nytorv prepares a New Year’s menu to finish at home, from lobster and cod loin to veal tournedos and kransekage, at 1,045 DKK per person. It is collected in the Palm Court on 31 December between noon and 3pm; order by 26 December, while menus last.

Comwell Copenhagen Portside: New Year’s Eve →   Tivoli Hotel: New Year →   Hotel d’Angleterre: New Year’s takeaway →

New Year’s Day and the days after

On 1 January some Copenhageners start the year with a cold dip in the harbour, Visit Copenhagen notes, and Tivoli and Copenhagen Zoo are open, with hours that may vary. The churches hold New Year’s Day services: the Marble Church at 10.30am and Holmen’s Church at 3pm.

Holmen’s Church closes the season with a concert on Twelfth Night, Tuesday 5 January 2027, at 7pm. For families, Sigurd Barrett’s New Year Concert, with a choir, a symphony orchestra and ballet children, plays the Old Stage of the Royal Danish Theatre on Sunday 3 January 2027 at 1pm and 4pm (195–305 DKK, sold by the organiser, Louise Schouw Teater).

Marble Church: services →   Holmen’s Church: concerts →   Royal Danish Theatre: Sigurd’s New Year Concert →

Danish customs and practical advice

The Danish New Year has its rituals. Many Danes watch the King’s New Year speech at 6pm before dinner; at midnight there is champagne and kransekage, the ringed marzipan cake, and the well-known custom, Visit Copenhagen says, of jumping from a chair or sofa into the new year.

Public transport runs on New Year’s Eve, but services and timetables may differ, so check your route and the last departures before you go out. Restaurants, bars and clubs across the city serve special menus that night, and the best tables are booked well ahead.

Our advice: book dinner now, wear proper boots and a warm coat for the square, and keep a safe distance from fireworks in the streets after midnight.

Visit Copenhagen: New Year’s Eve →   Christmas in Copenhagen →

Questions and answers