What to know for New Year’s Eve

Events

From fireworks, dance performances, figure skating, and ice sculptures, here’s everything you need to know for the free New Year’s Eve celebration.

Boston’s First Night, the city’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration, will once again bring dance, figure skating, live music, and its signature fireworks show to locations across the city on Dec. 31. The programming features performers ranging from The Skating Club of Boston, the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and musicians spanning classical, pop, and hip-hop.

“There’s really a wide range of musical spectrum and we’re excited to be able to give our stage up for them and for the people of Boston to come and enjoy it,” T.K. Skenderian said, First Night’s Director of Marketing & Communications.

All events are free and open to the public, though Boston First Night accepts donations. Here’s what you need to know about First Night Boston 2026.

Where is First Night Boston 2026?

This year’s celebrations will take place across 10 sites, including Copley Square, the Boston Public Library, City Hall Plaza, Boston Common, and Boston Harbor (site of the midnight fireworks display). The hub of activity will center around Boston City Hall, which will host live musical performances throughout the day. Skating performances will take place at the Frog Pond at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The annual parade and early fireworks show at 7 p.m. will be at Boston Common.

Food

Boston Public Market will be open until 3 p.m. on Dec. 31 with nearly 20 local vendors offering a range of food and drinks, including cocktails, hard cider, beer, and wine. At City Hall Plaza, Fiesta Shows will serve sausage, fried dough, chicken finger, tater tots, and soup. Daddy’s Fried Dough will also offer fried dough and hot chocolate. At Boston Common, Dean’s Concessions will provide a variety of sweet treats and savory snacks.

Performances

Performances begin at 10 a.m. with a Jeff Jam sing-a-long at Boston Public Market and wrap up with a 10:30 p.m. City Hall performance from The Femmes, an all-woman and non-binary cover band.

A few highlights throughout the day include:

• The Emancipation Proclamation Concert, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States, at Trinity Concert (1 p.m.)
• A Trike Called Funk at Copley Square (1 p.m.)
• First Night Parade at City Hall Plaza (6 p.m.)
• Veronica Robles at City Hall Plaza (8:10 p.m.)

A full schedule is available online.

Ice Sculptures

Together with Boston Harbor Now, First Night returns with its annual ice sculpture stroll, featuring 35 locations across the city from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., with many located along the waterfront and in the Seaport. A full map is available online. At City Hall Plaza, the iconic “BOSTON” ice sculpture will be display from noon on Dec. 31 through 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 1.

Fireworks

The 7 p.m. family fireworks display over Boston Common is presented by The Mugar Foundation and follows the First Night Parade. To ring in the new year, head to the waterfront for the midnight fireworks over Boston Harbor, presented by Meet Boston.