31 December 2026 · Rome
New Year’s Eve 2026 in Rome
Rome sees the year out in gilded rooms: an orchestra in a hotel ballroom, Tchaikovsky beneath the red-and-gold tiers of the Teatro Costanzi, a gospel choir under Renzo Piano’s roofs. Here is every New Year’s Eve event for Thursday 31 December 2026 that we could confirm on the venues’ own pages on 12 November 2026, with the city’s open-air concert at the Circo Massimo.
Updated October 2026
Midnight at the Circo Massimo
For the last four New Year’s Eves, Roma Capitale has given the city a free open-air concert in the Circo Massimo, the long green valley of the ancient chariot course below the Palatine. When we checked, the 2026 programme had not been published. The last edition began at 9pm with Italian pop headliners, toasted midnight on stage and carried on with DJ sets into the small hours; entry was free, without tickets.
The city’s tourism office, Turismo Roma, publishes the concert, its entrances on Viale Aventino and Via del Circo Massimo, and the transport arrangements once they are confirmed; its contact centre answers on 06 06 08.
Our advice: arrive early, travel light and walk home; the Palatine and the Aventine are at their most beautiful in the first hour of the year.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsTurismo Roma: New Year’s Concert at the Circus Maximus (last edition)
Swan Lake and a gala dinner: San Silvestro all’Opera
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Udine2812 · CC BY-SA 4.0The Teatro dell’Opera di Roma dances Il lago dei cigni at the Teatro Costanzi at 6pm on 31 December, in Benjamin Pech’s choreography with Ido Arad conducting; Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov dance the leads. The run begins on 17 December and also plays at 11am on Christmas Eve.
San Silvestro all’Opera wraps the performance in a whole evening: a seat in the stalls or a central box, the programme and a signed poster, a glass of prosecco in the Caffè dell’Opera or the first-floor foyer, then a walk through the Passaggio Callas to the Hotel Quirinale for a seated gala dinner with place cards. It is sold until it sells out, at the box office and through the theatre’s site.
Our advice: the theatre does not print the package price; ask the events office (eventi@operaroma.it) when you book.
Teatro dell’Opera di Roma: San Silvestro all’Opera Teatro dell’Opera di Roma: Il lago dei cigni Our guide to opera and concert tickets in Rome
Ballrooms and galas: the St. Regis, the Westin Excelsior and W Rome
The St. Regis Rome gives its New Year’s Eve to the Ritz Ballroom, with a gala dinner show and the Mikely Family Orchestra; a New Year package pairs the gala with a stay. On Via Veneto, the Westin Excelsior holds its Gran Gala Dinner in the Ludovisi and Borghese ballrooms: Champagne and canapés, five courses with wines, cotechino and lentils for luck, live piano, a bottle of Champagne per table at midnight, then music at the Orvm bar.
At W Rome, Giano serves a New Year’s Eve gala dinner of seafood and white truffle with welcome bubbles, and the W Lounge has its own dinner followed by an after-dinner party with two signature drinks, a midnight toast, panettone and a DJ as 2026 turns into 2027.
Our advice: none of the three prints its New Year’s Eve prices; reserve now and ask when you book.
The St. Regis Rome: festive season 2026 The Westin Excelsior Rome: holiday events W Rome: holiday events
Gospel, theatre and three tenors
At the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, the Roma Gospel Festival closes the year with Vincent Tharpe & Kenosis, gospel soul from Memphis, at 10pm in the Sala Sinopoli (from €40). In the Sala Santa Cecilia at 10pm, the actor Edoardo Leo returns for New Year’s Eve with Ti racconto una storia, an evening of stories and music in Italian (from €88).
In the city centre, the Salone Bernini of Palazzo Ripetta hosts a New Year’s concert by three tenors, Alessandro Fortunato, Francesco Fortes and Stefano Sorrentino, with string quartet and piano, listed by Turismo Roma for 31 December 2026; the programme may change.
Our advice: a 10pm curtain at the Auditorium takes you to midnight in the hall; book a taxi home well in advance.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio MorriconeAuditorium: Vincent Tharpe & Kenosis, 31 December Auditorium: Edoardo Leo, 31 December Turismo Roma: Concerto di Capodanno, I Tre Tenori
New Year’s Day 2027
On Friday 1 January 2027 the Westin Excelsior lays on Buffet & Bubbles at Doney on Via Veneto: oysters and seafood, cheeses, live pasta stations, Roman specialities and a dessert table. At the Auditorium, the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra under Giacomo Loprieno plays Alla scoperta di Morricone at 6pm in the Sala Santa Cecilia (from €36), and Vincent Tharpe & Kenosis sing again at 6pm in the Sala Sinopoli.
Our advice: Morricone in the hall that bears his name is a fine way to begin a Roman year.
The Westin Excelsior Rome: New Year’s Day Auditorium: Alla scoperta di Morricone, 1 January Auditorium: Vincent Tharpe & Kenosis, 1 January
Still to come, and how to plan
When we checked, the Hotel de Russie, Hotel Eden, Anantara Palazzo Naiadi and the Rome Cavalieri had not published a 2026 New Year’s Eve on pages we could read, and the Hassler’s festive page gave no year; the Vatican had not yet published the Pope’s Christmas and year-end celebrations. We will add them as they are confirmed.
Our advice: book dinner and the theatre now, plan to walk or pre-book a car after midnight, and see our Christmas in Rome guide for the season around it.
Christmas in Rome Vatican: Calendar of Celebrations, December 2026
Questions and answers
Is there a New Year’s Eve concert at the Circo Massimo in 2026?
Roma Capitale has held a free New Year’s Eve concert at the Circo Massimo for the last four years; the last edition began at 9pm and ran past midnight with DJ sets. The 2026 line-up was not yet published on 12 November 2026: check turismoroma.it in December.
Are there fireworks in Rome on New Year’s Eve?
In recent years the city’s own public celebration has been the free open-air concert at the Circo Massimo, organised by Roma Capitale. Its 2026 programme was not yet published when we checked.
Where can I celebrate New Year’s Eve 2026 in style in Rome?
The Teatro dell’Opera pairs Swan Lake at 6pm with a gala dinner at the Hotel Quirinale; the St. Regis holds a gala in the Ritz Ballroom with an orchestra; the Westin Excelsior has a five-course gala in its ballrooms; and W Rome has a gala at Giano and a party at the W Lounge.
Every event from the venue’s or organiser’s own page (operaroma.it, marriott.com hotel pages for the St. Regis, the Westin Excelsior and W Rome, auditorium.com, turismoroma.it, vatican.va), checked 12 November 2026. Prices are as each venue prints them. Check before you go.