Copenhagen on New Year's Eve 2026: Tivoli's 23:00 fireworks, the City Hall Square crowd, the fireworks law and what is shut

💡 The Short Version: Copenhagen has no single official New Year’s Eve display. The organised one is Tivoli’s fireworks at 23:00 on 31 December, free with entrance (from DKK 210). At midnight the crowd is on City Hall Square, and the fireworks there are set off by the public. Private fireworks are legal only on 31 December and 1 January. The King’s New Year address is at 18:00 on television and radio. Shops in the centre close at 15:00, most sights close early or shut, and the metro runs all night. Or book a daytime walk: the Classic City Walking Tourad is from DKK 142.

⚠️ Thursday 31 December. Shops in Indre By close at 15:00 and are shut on Friday 1 January. Rosenborg and Amalienborg close at 14:00, the Glyptotek at 15:00 and the Round Tower at 12:00. Tivoli is open from 11:00 to midnight.

Tivoli’s fireworks

Vesterbrogade 3 · 31 December, 23:00 · free with Tivoli entrance · tivoli.dk

Tivoli puts on the fireworks as its New Year wish. It says they are best seen from the area in front of the Open Air Stage, in front of the Glass Hall entrances and in front of Nimb, and that they may be cancelled in poor visibility or extreme weather. The gardens are open on 31 December from 11:00 to midnight, according to the city’s Visitor Service, and the fireworks are at 23:00, an hour before midnight.

Entrance is DKK 210 on 31 December on Tivoli’s calendar for the Christmas season, and the Ride Pass is extra. Buy at shop.tivoli.dk; Tivoli Gardens tickets has the prices. Tivoli’s own site also sells a New Year’s Eve concert and says its restaurants take bookings for special menus on the night: Fru Nimb, Glassalen, Figaro, Brdr. Price, Grøften, A Hereford Beefstouw, Nimb Brasserie, Paafuglen, Viften and Over Plænen.

GetYourGuide sells Tivoli’s own tickets: the Christmas entrance ticketad is from DKK 210 and cancels free up to 24 hours ahead, which the shop does not.

Midnight on City Hall Square

Rådhuspladsen · metro M3, M4

Visit Copenhagen says the main New Year’s event is on City Hall Square, where thousands of Copenhageners watch the clock on the City Hall tower and fireworks go up when the hands reach midnight. It names two other fireworks spots, Dronning Louises Bro and the Lakes. The fireworks are set off by the people in the square and on the streets, not by the city. The rest of the night is in the streets and at private parties.

At midnight Danes jump off a chair, a table or a sofa into the new year, according to Visit Copenhagen. The tradition is about 60 years old.

The King’s address and the fireworks law

The King gives the New Year address every year at 18:00 on 31 December, from Frederik VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg, on television and radio, according to Kongehuset, the royal household. It is a broadcast, not an event at the palace.

A private firework over the rooftops of Amager on New Year’s night. Photo: Guillaume Baviere, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

The rules for private fireworks, from the state’s citizen portal borger.dk:

• When: only 31 December and 1 January.
• Buying: shops sell fireworks from 15 to 31 December. Only CE-marked fireworks are legal, and professional fireworks may not be sold to the public.
• Age: 18 to buy, or 15 for year-round items such as sparklers and table bombs.

What is open on 31 December and 1 January

The 31st is a Thursday and 1 January 2027 a Friday. Shops in Indre By are open from 10:00 to 15:00 on 31 December and closed on 1 January, according to KCC, whose hours are guidance. The city’s Visitor Service lists these sights, and warns that hours can change:

A blank cell means the list does not show the sight as open. The canal boats and the hop-on hop-off buses run on both days. Kronborg is shut on both days.

Eating

Restaurants serve set New Year’s menus and book out, so reserve. Schønnemann, the smørrebrød restaurant on Hauser Plads, is closed from the evening of 24 December to 5 January 2027. Lumskebugten, on Esplanaden, is closed on 23, 24 and 31 December. See smørrebrød in Copenhagen and where to eat in Copenhagen.

Getting home

The metro runs around the clock. On the standard timetable it runs a train every 20 minutes between 01:00 and 07:00 after a Thursday night, and every 8 minutes after Friday and Saturday nights. A single ticket for 3 zones is DKK 30: see Copenhagen public transport. The sun sets at about 15:45 on 31 December.

Where to stay

City Hall Square and Tivoli are by the Central Station, so a hotel there puts the midnight crowd and the 23:00 fireworks within walking distance: hotels near Copenhagen Central Station lists them, and where to stay in Copenhagen compares the areas.

Next

For the days before, see Copenhagen Christmas markets 2026, 3 days in Copenhagen and Copenhagen with kids. For the weather in winter, see the best time to visit Copenhagen. Other New Year’s Eves are in Munich and Berlin.