The best online events of New Year's Eve
From K-Pop concerts to a show hosted by Miley Cyrus, there are plenty of events around the world to attend virtually and ring in 2022. Here is a selection.
New Year's Eve in Times Square
Despite the Omicron variant surge, the annual ball drop is taking place in Times Square in New York City. There are a number of different shows affiliated with it, the most popular being ABC’s "Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve" which celebrates its 50th year. Performers include Colombian star Karol G, as well as One Republic and Journey on the show which starts at 8pm ET.
A Miami celebration
Miley Cyrus teams up with comedian Pete Davis for what promises to be an entertaining New Year’s eve special called "Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party" broadcast out of Miami. In addition to surprise guests, those on the lineup include Saweetie, Jack Harlow, and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. The show runs on NBC.com and Peacock for US viewers, from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. EST on December 31.
A Viennese New Year's tradition
It’s one of Europe’s classical music traditions — and one of the priciest tickets for those attending in person: The Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s concert. This year, conductor Daniel Barenboim will lead the historic ensemble in a program with waltzes and other danceable tunes by Johann Strauss and Carl Michael Ziehrer. It takes place at 2pm CET on January 1 and can be streamed online.
Kicking off 2022 with the Berlin Philharmonic
Another leading orchestra is giving a concert to ring in 2022. Conducted by 32-year-old Israeli conductor Lahav Shani, it features violin soloist Janine Jansen. The orchestra presents works by Strauss, Ravel and Stravinsky and a violin concerto by Bruch. It can be streamed for a fee via the ensemble’s digital concert hall.
A K-Pop showcase
Although K-pop superstars BTS won’t be doing a New Year’s show, fans of the genre can check out an online concert with groups from one of South Korea’s country’s biggest entertainment agencies, SM Entertainment. It includes performances by NCT, aespa, Super Junior, SHINee and more and can be streamed starting at 1pm PT (5am UTC) on January 1, 2022 on all of SMTown’s social media sites.
David Guetta in the UAE
For those who prefer to dance the night away to tunes dropped by one of the world’s top DJs, the online concert by David Guetta is ideal. Similar to 2021 when he performed to an online audience in front of the Louvre in Paris, Guetta will present a streamed concert from the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi that’s sure to be full of fancy pyrotechnics. It starts at 9pm CET on December 31 online.
Fancy fireworks in Australia
Similar to NYC's Times Square extravaganza, the annual fireworks display in the Sydney Harbor is Australia's premiere New Year's Eve event. Crowds will be in attendance, although authorities have enoucouraged people to watch the spectacle online. It takes place at 9pm local time (AEDT).