How to spend your New Year's Eve 2024 in Bologna

Still not sure what to do on New Year's Eve?

Don't worry.

The following guidelines will provide you with an overview of the many possibilities awaiting visitors during the most glittering period of the year in Bologna.

From exhibitions to theatres, from food stands to dance floors, the desire to celebrate is always guaranteed. Have fun!

WAITING FOR MIDNIGHT

Waiting for midnight, experience the magic of Palazzo Pepoli at Via Castiglione, 8. In the heart of Bologna, let yourself be amazed by the grandeur of this recently reopened palace. Inside, in the Piazza Coperta, you can enjoy a moment of relaxation at the refreshment corner and shop for unique souvenirs and gadgets at its bookshop. Don’t forget to purchase your ticket to the Museum of the History of Bologna, housed within the palace, where you'll be literally immersed in the city's history and true identity, on a journey between the ancient and the modern.

An unmissable opportunity to spend the time before midnight in a place where art, history, and modernity blend perfectly.

Buy your ticket here!

AND IF IT'S NOT ENOUGH...

Before celebrating the crazy night of New Year's Eve, choose to book an activity amidst culture, art, food and more, in the city or outside the centre.

Discover the experiences HERE

IN THE SQUARE

The traditional New Year's Eve celebration in Piazza Maggiore is about to begin the countdown to 2025, welcoming the people of Bologna into a long night of festivities. The central square will be open to 9,000 people, and as always, music will take center stage, with two female DJs heating up the atmosphere: Missin Red and Valentina Dallari.

At the stroke of midnight, Piazza Maggiore hosts an event that has become a beloved tradition for the people of Bologna: the Vecchione, an artistic creation made from wood and recycled materials that represents the past year. It is set on fire to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one. This year the Vecchione will be created by Yole Signorelli, known as Fumettibrutti and will be surprising and majestic: a phoenix.

Since 1993, the design of the Vecchione has been entrusted to prominent artists connected to the city, who have enriched the communal ritual of the bonfire with ever-new forms and messages over the years.

EXHIBITIONS

Culture never gets a holiday, and even during the festivities the city offers many exhibitions worth discovering.

Check all ongoing exhibitions during the Holidays HERE

AT THE SPA

What could be more pleasant than pampering yourself at the spa?

The Villaggio della Salute Più proposes numerous offers to spend New Year's Eve in an alternative way to the usual: big dinner, buffet and pool party plus access to the spa.

Find out more on the official website

THEATRES AND NEW YEAR'S CONCERTS

Plenty of choice on the 31st December and 1st January in Bologna theatres such as:

Opera Locos, 31 dicembre , Arena del Sole
Queen of the night, 31 dicembre, Teatro EuropAuditorium
Les étoiles, 28-29 dicembre, Teatro Auditorium Manzoni
The graduated, 31 dicembre, Modernissimo

Discover the programming on the official sites.

DINNER AND DANCE

Grand Tour Italia is offering an electrifying evening to mark the end of 2024: a big New Year's Eve party from the afternoon of 31 December until the early hours of the morning withdance, food, entertainment and much more.

Many other involving activities will also be taking place in the city hotels with dinners and musical entertainment at:

Not on this list? Report your New Year's Eve event at redazione@bolognawelcome.it

ARTICLE BEING UPDATED

How to spend your New Year's Eve 2024 in Bologna