10. Your Bedroom
No expectations? No disappointment! Plus no douche bags will be pushing you in the back to get a better view of fireworks. Ugh. People. Plus, who is more entertaining than you?
9. Times Square, New York City
Cliched, crowded and costly – yes, yes, yes – but the lowering of this gigantic, culturally significant disco ball in Times Square is a sight to behold. A sight earned through attrition by guarding your spot in the cold for six hours while testing the limits of your bladder control. Yes, this represents the planning headaches we all try to avoid on NYE but draw strength in the fact that your grievances – and ensuing elation – will be shared by thousands.
Photo: Jemal Countess, Getty Images
8. Copacabana Beach, Brazil
If you’re gonna get shitfaced on a beach you might as well do it properly. Our advice? Go to Copacabana Beach in Brazil, the world’s biggest and liveliest New Year’s Eve beach party. White is typically worn to symbolize peace but you can mix it up with different colours to represent other New Year desires. Green means good health. Yellow means prosperity. And red is for love. Other traditions include lighting candles, getting drunk and throwing flowers into the ocean for good luck. Major draw cards include the drink kiosks, fireworks display and high profile local musicians but the sheer optimism of the 2 million plus revelers is what makes this bash so special.
Photo: Konrad Fiedler, Getty Images.
7. Venice, Saint Marks Square, Venice
Italians do it better, and by “it” we mean make awesome luxury cars and creating non-creepy social environments in which to kiss strangers in. Each year in the famed Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square), in Venice, tens of thousands of Venetians gather to watch fireworks and engage in a mass kiss-in in which it matters not if you know the person next to you.
Photo: Marco Secchi, Getty Images.
6. Canada, Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada’s biggest new year’s eve celebration is open to the public and free of charge. The party takes place in Queen Victoria Park where two lots of fireworks go off over Niagara Gorge – the perfect romantic location for ringing in the new year by pashing a stranger or throwing out a spontaneous proposal of marriage. The entertainment includes Canadian R&B pop queen Nelly Furtado so take your dancing shoes because shaking your butt is the second best way to stave off the cold (body heat is obviously the number one method).
5. The Northern Lights, Reykjavik, Iceland
Fireworks are always impressive but nothing is quite as spectacular as Mother Nature hallucinating. The Northern Lights are the most stunning natural phenomenon known to man and ideal viewing times are said to fall in and around New Year’s Eve. Sadly, you are never guaranteed to see them. But imagine if you did. It’d be the most romantic thing you could do.
Photo: Olafs Jordur via Iceland Unlimited.
4. Falls Festival, Byron Bay
Already a super popular NYE destination thanks to its gorgeous natural beauty and world renowned chill vibes, you may notice a marked increase in human traffic in and around Byron Bay this year with the inaugural running of Falls Festival, joining sister sites in Lorne and Marion Bay. This year’s lineup includes The Roots, MGMT, Vampire Weekend and Solange.
Photo: Mark Metcalfe, Getty Images.
3. Full Moon Party – Koh Phangan, Thailand
We’ve all seen The Beach. Actually, maybe that’s a reason not to go.
Photo: Paula Bronstein, Getty Images.
2. Hogmanay, Scotland
Hogmanay is a bit of a misnomer. Its the Scots word for “last day of the year” but actually takes place over days. For the uninitiated, the celebration is an Edinburgh-based street festival in which thousands descend upon the Scottish capital to drink, party and participate in centuries old traditions (fireball swinging anyone???), followed by a dip in the Fifth of Forth the next day. Scottish people are a great time partly because they’re raving lunatics – what better type of person to spend the last few hours of the year with? Bonus fact to make you appear smarter than you actually are: the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” to mark the New Year originated from Hogmanay.
Photo: Jeff J Mitchell, Getty Images.
1. CHASE THE DAWN IN MIAMI AND TULUM
Five lucky winners will have the chance to Chase the Dawn for NYE 2013. They’ll grab their best friend, their passports an prepare to party on far flung shores. They will be flown to Miami for a pre NYE beach party, before taking a private jet to mexico for the inaugural Young Turks VIP Festival on NYE, Tulum, where they will watch the sun rise on 2014 in ‘The City of The Dawn. Head to the ASOS website right now for your chance to attend the party of the new year.
