New Year’s Eve Countdown in Singapore

It’s time: 2025 is nearly over and we’re ready for New Year’s Eve countdown parties at Singapore restaurants! Wondering what to do on New Year’s Eve? Here are some fabulous spots to go for the countdown in Singapore as you welcome in 2026, along with great ideas for New Year’s Eve dinner. Also, read on for some interesting trivia about New Year’s traditions from around the world.

Celebrate New Year 2025 at these Singapore restaurants and events

Fireworks Countdown Party at Skyline Bar

If your ideal New Year’s Eve is big on buzz and even bigger on views, make a beeline for Skyline Bar at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, Singapore.

Set high above the city, this rooftop bar puts you in prime position for Marina Bay’s waterfront fireworks, with DJ Kate on the decks and free-flowing Taittinger Champagne from 9pm to 1am.

On the menu: wagyu beef and foie gras sliders, oyster shooters, a premium charcuterie grazing table, hot-off-the-grill meats and a line-up of sweet treats to keep you going through to midnight and beyond.

Party packages start from $168 per person with free-flow soft drinks and juices, $208 with free-flow alcoholic beverages and house wines, and $268 with Taittinger Champagne included.

Book your tickets here.

6 Raffles Boulevard
6845 1116 | skylinebar.prsmb@parkroyalcollection.com

Neon Nights Countdown in the Sky: SKAI Loft at Swissôtel The Stamford

If you’re going to welcome a new year, you may as well do it properly – and at Swissôtel The Stamford, “properly” means 71 floors above Singapore with the skyline spread out beneath you. As the tallest hotel in the city, you’ll feel like you’re ringing in the year from the top of the world.

On 31 December (10pm to 3am), SKAI Loft transforms into a neon playground. A six-piece live band, Let’sPlay! – featuring powerhouse vocalist Olivia and groove master Vimal on percussion – kicks off the night with Top 40s, radio hits, pop/rock and 90s/2000s classics. As midnight nears, live DJ acts Kidd Royale, Vianna and Pillazion take over the decks, spinning the best of EDM, dance-pop and house for a full-tilt countdown.

The drinks list is primed for a big night out – think Pommery Brut Royal, Monkey Shoulder, Hendrick’s, Don Julio Blanco and more. Guests can also order bar bites to keep the party going, such as Japanese fried chicken, salt-and-pepper baby squid, truffle kombu fries and even a Manjari chocolate cake for a late-night sugar lift.

Come dressed in Neon Chic (there’s a one-night hotel stay up for grabs), and expect sky-high views, serious people-watching and a dance floor that doesn’t slow down.

Entry is $35 per person (includes one house-pour spirit, beer or wine). Ticket booking link: sevn.ly/x2eiPNq7. Table packages are available; email Chunkiat.NG@fairmont.com.

swissotel.com/hotels/singapore-stamford

Pan Pacific Singapore – New Year’s Eve dinner and countdown parties 

Ring in 2026 with two different countdowns at this hotel in Marina Bay. At Pacific Club Lounge (Level 38), New Year 2025 festivities run from 10.30pm to 1am with DJ Estr and canapés, plus a clear perch for the midnight fireworks. Packages start from $288 per person, including bottomless bubbles and canapes, for a classy countdown in Singapore.

At PLUME, the night unfolds from 5pm to 3am with Rock Rosettes followed by DJ Amanda. Table packages start from $388 for two, including cocktails, canapes and more. Groups can book The Nest for 20, with a private bartender and three litres of champagne (minimum spend applies).

If you prefer a sit-down meal to the countdown, Edge serves New Year’s Eve Dinner from 6pm to 10pm and New Year’s Day Brunch from 12pm to 3.30pm. Keep the flutes coming with the free-flow Taittinger Brut Réserve add-on.

Singapore restaurant Keyaki also marks the New Year 2025 with a Kaiseki menu from 31 December to 2 January (from $270 per person).

panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pp-marina.html

CQ @ Clarke Quay for a riverside NYE countdown

If you want a buzzy, riverside countdown without fighting half the city for a taxi, then the New Year’s Eve events at Clarke Quay fit the bill. Clarke Quay is walkable from the CBD and City Hall, lined with bars, restaurants and late-night spots, and this year CQ @ Clarke Quay is pulling out all the stops with The Next Stage: New Age – a futuristic NYE countdown experience running from 7pm till late on 31 December.

Across the precinct, four themed “biomes” set the scene: Hydronexus glows with underwater, bioluminescent vibes; Neon Nexus goes full futuristic; Zenterra blends nature and tech; and Central Command at Fountain Square becomes the heart of the action, hosting a Zouk DJ set by Gainzter (7pm to 9pm), followed by live band Nation One (9pm to 11.30pm) and the midnight countdown led by host Yumiko Kayahara. The biome installations take place on 30 and 31 December, with NYE countdown as the main event.

Another of the headline New Year’s Eve events here is the pair of drone shows above Read Bridge at 9pm and 11pm – a chance to see choreographed formations light up the night sky before the clock strikes twelve (subject to weather changes).

capitaland.com/sg/malls/clarkequay/en/CQNYECountdown

The Fullerton Hotels Singapore – Waterfront countdowns in Singapore 

Year-end celebrations across The Fullerton Hotel Singapore and The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore centre on bayfront dining and waterfront countdowns.

At The Fullerton Hotel, The Lighthouse offers a six-course New Year’s Eve dinner featuring Carabinero prawns with N°25 Oscietra caviar and Kagoshima wagyu striploin with black truffle, followed by a rooftop party with DJ sets and fireworks. Jade is serving its Starlight Dinner, while Town Restaurant presents a New Year’s Eve Feast with fresh seafood, festive roasts and Asian favourites, including its Boston Lobster Laksa.

Across the bay, The Clifford Pier at The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore hosts a New Year’s Eve Feast leading into its countdown celebration beneath the venue’s Art Deco arches. Lantern’s rooftop party lays on DJ sets and champagne, while Singapore restaurant La Brasserie offers a five-course dinner before guests join The Clifford Pier festivities this New Year 2025.

New Year’s Day continues with La Brasserie’s Champagne Brunch and Town Restaurant’s New Year’s Day Lunch Buffet for a slower start to 2026.

fullertonhotels.com/fullerton-hotel-singapore
fullertonhotels.com/fullerton-bay-hotel-singapore

Marina Bay Countdown 2026 in Singapore 

Marina Bay comes alive on 31 December with fireworks and live entertainment along the waterfront. Soak up the buzz, catch the skyline views and welcome 2026. For all the details on New Year 2025, keep an eye on the official countdown website.

marinabaycountdown.gov.sg

The Singapore EDITION – Countdown Party 

Round out the year in style on 31 December across this hotel’s two venues. FYSH is serving a four-course dinner with two snacks ($150; optional Magnum pairing $100). Over at the Lobby Bar, The Rosé EDITION Countdown Party runs from 9pm to 1am with live entertainment from Mantravine.

Prefer something private? Book a Singapore countdown in the Punch Room, Pink Room or Wonder Room this New Year 2025.

On 1 January (12pm to 3pm), Singapore restaurant FYSH flips to a recovery lunch – à la carte plates, a roving Bloody Mary trolley, and optional free-flow champagne and cocktails.

marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sineb-the-singapore-edition

Now that you’re clued on the finest restaurants booking for New Year’s Eve and ways to countdown in Singapore, here are a few interesting New Year’s traditions and superstitions from across the globe.

Austria

At midnight, all the radio and television stations operated by the state broadcast the sound of the bell of St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. “The Blue Danube” then follows. People across the country turn out into the streets to dance the waltz in this New Year tradition.

Belarus

Some single women looking for lasting love sit in a circle, each with a pile of corn in front of them. A rooster is placed in the circle’s centre, and the woman whose grain heap it pecks first is believed to be the one who’ll get married first.

Brazil

If you head to Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for New Year’s Eve, be sure to wear white. Here, people offer white flowers as gifts to Yamanja, the Afro-Brazilian queen of the sea. The floral gifts are placed on the water, some even in special boats, hoping the queen will bring them energy and strength.

Colombia

Love to travel? So do Colombians. To be sure their year will be filled with plenty of travel opportunities, they walk around the block with an empty suitcase.

Denmark

People in Denmark save their broken dishes and throw them at the homes of their friends and family as a gesture of good luck. You can also just opt to leave a heap of broken china on doorsteps if you’d prefer.

Ecuador

Some Ecuadorians make scarecrow-like effigies called los anos viejos (“the old years”) of people they dislike or of notable people from last year. Dolls and masks line the streets in the weeks leading up to the holiday. In Quito, the capital, a New Year’s Eve parade at night culminates with the effigies being tossed onto giant bonfires. Also, women and kids dress up as viudas, or widows of the dolls; some dress as Baby New Year. Together, they use just about everything imaginable to block streets, even highways, until you pay a toll of money or candy.

El Salvador

People here are said to crack an egg in a glass at midnight and leave it on their windowsill as a tradition. Fortunes are then predicted based on what shape the egg takes by morning.

Estonia

You’d better have a big appetite if you plan to spend New Year’s Eve in Estonia. There, one New Year’s tradition involves eating seven, nine or twelve times on the day, as these are all lucky numbers in Estonia. For every meal consumed, you apparently gain the strength of that many men for the following year! Luckily, some food should be left behind for the spirits of ancestors who visit on the day.

Finland

Some Finns are said to melt lead in a tin pan on the stove and throw it quickly into a bucket of cold water. The resulting blob is then analysed and all sorts of predictions made. What kind of shadows does it cast by candlelight? This New Year’s tradition is loads of fun and never taken too seriously.

France

The New Year’s holiday period goes to 6 January and ends with a celebration of the Epiphany. A special kind of cake called la galette des rois (“King’s Pie”) is served. It consists of two flat sheets of puff pastry filled with almond paste. The cake also contains a feve, or small china doll. Whoever finds the doll gets to wear a paper crown and also choose a partner.

Germany

Like in Finland, some Germans make predictions using molten lead. It’s also considered good luck to touch a chimney sweep or rub some ash on your forehead.

Greece

The Greeks have all sorts of New Year’s Eve traditions. During some family dinners, the hostess puts jewellery on a plate and serves it as a sign of the coming year’s prosperity. Dinner plates aren’t washed because Saint Vassilis (Greek Santa Claus) is expecting food when he visits. At midnight, lights are turned off and on again; this represents the new light of the new year. A vasilopita (also a “King’s Pie”!) is then served with a foil-wrapped coin inside. Whoever finds it is said to be blessed with luck for the year ahead.

The Philippines

There are many New Year’s traditions and superstitions in the Philippines. One involves opening all the doors, windows and cabinets in the house to let the bad energy out and the good energy in, all while making noise to keep the evil spirits away.

Romania

New Year’s Eve belongs to the animals in Romania. Farmers apparently try to hear their animals talk; if they do, it’s said they’ll have good luck for the coming year. People also don bear costumes (often made out of real bear fur) and dance to keep evil at bay.

Russia

Some Russians write down a wish on a piece of paper, burn it, throw it into a champagne glass and drink it before midnight turns to 12.01am.

Scotland

Immediately after the clock strikes midnight, the “first-footing” begins. This new year’s eve tradition involves a dark-haired male being the first person to cross your threshold after midnight for good luck in the new year. Sometimes, the first-footer brings gifts such as coal or whiskey.

South Africa

In Johannesburg, locals who live in the city’s Hillbrow neighbourhood toss old furniture out the windows, or off their balconies. The idea is to get rid of stuff from the old year and also embrace what the new year has to offer.

Spain

As the clock strikes midnight, Spanish people have been known to eat twelve white grapes, one for each chime of the clock. This New Year’s tradition has its origins in 1909. Back then, grape growers thought of it as a way to cut down on the year’s production surplus.

Turkey

Some folks in Turkey apparently grab a handful of pomegranate seeds and throw them from their balconies. The more the seeds burst, the more plentiful the year ahead is supposed to be.

Also …

Aside from all these weird and wonderful practices, did you know there are lots of NYE superstitions about underwear?! In Turkey, red is the magic colour for fertility and passion, while some Colombians and Venezuelans  believe yellow lingerie brings happiness and peace. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans are said to don white undies for fertility and health. Some Argentinians also wear brand new pink underwear to attract love.

This article on the New Year 2025 Countdown in Singapore first appeared in the December 2025 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase the latest issue or subscribe so you never miss a copy!

Looking for more Singapore restaurants to count down to the new year in style? Read our best restaurants guide for more ideas on where to go for New Year’s Eve dinner.