New Year's Update: Million Celebration At COPACABANA

More than 1 million people flocked to the golden sands of Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach, where two dozen artists and DJs performed on three stages. Tourists and locals routinely party until dawn on the beach, staying awake to watch the tropical sun rise for the first time in 2015.

A massive fireworks display that’s blasted from boats on the Atlantic Ocean lit the sky over the crowd, most dressed in all white, a Brazilian tradition to bring purification and a peaceful year. Another tradition calls for partygoers to enter the sea up to their knees and jump over seven waves shortly after the New Year begins, for luck.