The dancing by the sea and the deejay sets in the center illuminated by a fire in the castle that has never been so powerful and evocative: Rimini archives the news of New Year’s Eve 2025 with an extremely positive balance, which confirms the goodness of a formula capable of renewing itself from year to year and of spreading the party over several days, expanding the spaces and the public and extending the average stay of visitors in the city.
Thanks to the good weather and a widespread and diversified program that started as early as December 29th, Rimini offered a “winter mid-August” glimpse, with full hotels and a constant tourist presence not only around New Year’s Eve, but also in the following days. The first findings from Visit Rimini confirm a higher average stay compared to previous years, with many guests arriving as early as December 29th and a city still lively on January 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
An important confirmation for a format which, after last year’s successful experiment, has been further consolidated: not a single large event, but a New Year’s Eve spread over several days and multiple places, capable of keeping music, culture and identity together.
The “longest New Year” was inaugurated by the previews of the two free concerts in Piazza Malatesta: Edoardo Bennato on 29 December and Francesca Michielin on 30 December brought thousands of people to the heart of the city. To arrive in the best possible way at the night of December 31st, when Rimini is transformed into a gigantic widespread party square, with DJ sets and musical events in every corner of the historic center and on the seafront.
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“The balance of this New Year’s Eve – comments the mayor of Rimini, Jamil Sadegholvaad – is very clear: the formula of New Year’s Eve spread over several days is a winning one and today we can say it with even more conviction. The attendance numbers, the glimpse of a city full as early as December 29th and alive until the first days of January, tell us that Rimini is increasingly chosen not for just one night, but for a real end-of-year holiday. We confirmed last year’s intuition, strengthening it and varying the story: two great preview concerts that were fully booked, a New Year’s Eve with an entire city transformed into one large widespread party, and a novelty like the Liscio Street Parade by the sea that managed to combine identity, tradition and contemporaneity. Today, with the New Year’s Opera, we ideally open an exceptional year, 2026, with an optimistic and increasingly international outlook – from the return of Vasco Rossi to the preview of Achille Lauro, from Routes Europe 2026 at the National Carabinieri Gathering, up to Velocity – tells of a city that continues to grow, to dare and to present itself as a protagonist on the national and international scene. Rimini demonstrates once again that it knows how to work in the long term, building attractiveness, quality and vision”.
Among the most appreciated novelties, the Liscio Street Parade – New Year Edition by the sea, which brought Romagna folklore and its contemporary evolutions to Piazzale Kennedy. A first edition that was a success, with the public filling Piazzale Kennedy as early as 9.30pm, filling the dance floor straight away. At 11pm the Mayor of Rimini brought his greetings to the People of Ballroom dancing gathered from all the main regions of Central and Northern Italy, also confirming the tourist attraction of large ballroom dancing and dance events. At midnight we greet the new year with a sold out event.
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In the historic center the party immediately entered into full swing with all the cultural containers opened with music, dances and unique proposals that welcomed a flow between the Surgeon’s Domus, Palazzo del Fulgor which hosted the Risomania photo set, the City Museum for the art toast, the Library courtyard, the Latin dances at the Atti theatre, the Cotton club style atmospheres at the Galli Theatre, the electronic music in the garden of the Modern Wing which was transformed into an electronic music space, art and culture with Rrimini Eletrique, the Serra Sonora in the gardens of the art palaces.
The two squares were packed with the Deejay Rotation and the DJ set of Rds 100% Grandi Successi in a continuous flow of people, until the moment of the midnight toast in Piazza Cavour with Roberta Lanfranchi together with the Mayor of Rimini Jamil Sadegholvaad wishing them a good start to the year with the most up-tempo hits since ’90 by the Discoradio Party with Matteo Epis, Valentina Guidi and Edo Munari, while on the other consoles the relay of deejays from the music scene of the Riviera discos continued with Paolo Nhe, Gianni Morri, Max Padovani, Maurizio Nari, Stefano Gambarelli, Gippo and Jadi Cartier, accompanied by violinist Mark Lanzetta.
At half past midnight Piazza Malatesta filled every corner for the most awaited and magical moment, that of the fire show at the Castle which was presented in the new version enhanced by the encounter between the light effects and the fireworks show (with reduced volume) which enchanted the public for twelve minutes immersing them in a timeless dream with 10 thousand fire effects and light trails that reached 20 meters in height.
The celebration continues in the next few days with cultural and musical events that will accompany the city until the Epiphany, confirming Rimini as one of the most attractive Italian destinations for the end-of-year holidays.
Rimini’s 2026 opens on January 1st with the double call of tradition and art: while the most daring challenge the Adriatic with the traditional New Year’s Eve Bath in Marina Centro and Torre Pedrera, the Galli Theater renews the tradition of opening the new year in opera by raising the curtain on the great Opera with Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida. For those who prefer wellness in the open air, the Camminata della Salute offers a 10 km regenerating route on the shoreline between Rimini and Riccione.
The wait for the Epiphany is marked by moments of great collective fascination, such as that of January 5, when the city welcomes the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Flame. The relay will cross Rimini from the sea to the historic center, culminating the journey in Piazza Malatesta with the lighting of the celebratory brazier by the Italian champion Nicole Piomboni.
The magic of the Epiphany, on January 6th, transforms the city with the arrival of the Three Kings, a multicultural and musical parade that starts from the Tiberius Bridge to reach the Malatesta Temple.
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