New Year's Eve quiz: 50 questions and answers to ring in 2027

You need a decent set of New Year's Eve trivia that works with a crowd, a few drinks and a countdown looming. This post has 50 New Year quiz questions with answers, split into five rounds of ten, covering traditions from around the world, songs and countdowns, calendars and time, things that happened on 1 January, and a lighter film, TV and end-of-year round.

Each round takes about ten minutes, so you can run one or two before dinner and save the rest for the lull before midnight. If you're after questions about what actually happened this year, that's a different job: use our quiz of the year for the year-in-review round and keep these for the evergreen stuff.

Round 1: New Year's Eve trivia on traditions around the world

1In Spain, what do people traditionally eat at the stroke of midnight, one for each chime of the clock?Use in quizUse

Answer:12 grapes (las doce uvas de la suerte)(click to reveal)

The custom is often traced to 1909, when growers in Alicante had a surplus and promoted it. The chimes from Madrid's Puerta del Sol are broadcast nationwide.

2In Scotland, what single word refers to the New Year's Eve celebration?Use in quizUse

Answer:Hogmanay(click to reveal)

Edinburgh's version is one of the biggest street parties in Europe.

3In Ecuador and Colombia, families build and burn effigies in the street at midnight. What are these effigies called?Use in quizUse

Answer:Año Viejo (meaning "old year")(click to reveal)

They often represent politicians, celebrities or cartoon characters, and burning them is meant to leave the old year's troubles behind.

4In Denmark, people save chipped plates and dishes all year to throw at friends' front doors on New Year's Eve. What does a big pile of broken crockery on your step supposedly say about you?Use in quizUse

Answer:You have lots of loyal friends (or good luck for the year ahead)(click to reveal)

The bigger the pile, the more popular you are.

5In several Latin American countries, the colour of your underwear on New Year's Eve is thought to shape the year ahead. Which colour is worn for wealth and prosperity?Use in quizUse

Answer:Yellow (or gold)(click to reveal)

Red is for love, white for peace and green for health.

6At midnight on New Year's Eve, Buddhist temples across Japan ring their bells a set number of times, said to clear away human desires. How many times?Use in quizUse

Answer:108(click to reveal)

The ritual is called Joya no Kane.

7On Copacabana beach in Brazil, people in white traditionally jump over a set number of waves at midnight, one for each wish. How many waves?Use in quizUse

Answer:Seven(click to reveal)

8In Greece, a cake called vasilopita is cut on New Year's Day. What is hidden inside it, bringing luck to whoever finds it?Use in quizUse

Answer:A coin(click to reveal)

9In Italy, which small legume is eaten at New Year because its round shape resembles coins and is thought to bring money?Use in quizUse

Answer:Lentils(click to reveal)

10In Scottish first-footing, the first person through your door after midnight traditionally brings gifts to bring luck. Which black fuel is one of the classic presents?Use in quizUse

Answer:Coal(click to reveal)

Along with salt, shortbread and whisky. Ideally, the visitor should be tall and dark-haired.

Round 2: Auld Lang Syne, songs and countdowns

11Robert Burns wrote down the words to "Auld Lang Syne", sung at midnight in many English-speaking countries. What does the phrase actually mean?Use in quizUse

Answer:"Old long since" or "times gone by"(click to reveal)

It's Scots. Burns collected and adapted an older folk song in the 1780s.

12During the final verse of "Auld Lang Syne", what do people traditionally do with their arms?Use in quizUse

Answer:Cross them and join hands with the people on either side(click to reveal)

13At the famous Times Square celebration in New York, what descends a pole as the countdown ends?Use in quizUse

Answer:A giant crystal ball(click to reveal)

The tradition began in 1907. The modern version is covered in Waterford crystal triangles.

14The BBC broadcasts a famous set of bongs at midnight on New Year's Eve. What is "Big Ben" actually the nickname of?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Great Bell (not the clock or the tower)(click to reveal)

The tower itself was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012. Wikipedia covers the history.

15Which bridge is the centrepiece of Sydney's famous New Year's Eve fireworks?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Sydney Harbour Bridge(click to reveal)

16Which artist released the 1982 song "1999", a party anthem that gets played a lot as the clock ticks over?Use in quizUse

Answer:Prince(click to reveal)

17Which Irish band had a 1983 hit called "New Year's Day"?Use in quizUse

Answer:U2(click to reveal)

18Which Swedish group released "Happy New Year" in 1980, a song that's more wistful than it sounds?Use in quizUse

Answer:ABBA(click to reveal)

19Which US city holds a New Year's Eve "drop" of a giant fruit, rather than a ball?Use in quizUse

Answer:Atlanta, Georgia (a peach)(click to reveal)

20Which US TV host presented "New Year's Rockin' Eve" from 1972 and became known as "America's oldest teenager"?Use in quizUse

Answer:Dick Clark(click to reveal)

Round 3: New Year quiz questions on resolutions, calendars and time

21Which Roman dictator reformed the calendar in 45 BC, creating the system that our modern one grew out of?Use in quizUse

Answer:Julius Caesar(click to reveal)

22Which pope introduced a corrected calendar in 1582 that most of the world now uses?Use in quizUse

Answer:Gregory XIII(click to reveal)

His version fixed the drift that had crept into the older calendar. Wikipedia has the full story.

23Which two-faced Roman god of beginnings, who looks both forwards and backwards, gave his name to the first month of the year?Use in quizUse

Answer:Janus(click to reveal)

24Until Britain changed its calendar in 1752, on which date did the legal new year begin in England?Use in quizUse

Answer:25 March (Lady Day)(click to reveal)

The switch also meant skipping eleven days in September.

25Which Pacific island nation is home to the first inhabited place on Earth to see in each new year?Use in quizUse

Answer:Kiribati (specifically Kiritimati in the Line Islands, at UTC+14)(click to reveal)

Samoa and Tonga follow close behind. timeanddate.com keeps a live list.

26Which New Zealand city is usually the first big city in the world to reach midnight on New Year's Eve?Use in quizUse

Answer:Auckland(click to reveal)

27The International Date Line roughly follows which line of longitude?Use in quizUse

Answer:180 degrees(click to reveal)

28Which ancient civilisation is often credited with making the first New Year's resolutions, promising their gods to pay debts and return borrowed items?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Babylonians (around 4,000 years ago)(click to reveal)

The Akitu festival marked the new year in ancient Babylon.

29Occasionally, an extra second is added to the final minute of 31 December (or 30 June) to keep clocks in step with the Earth's rotation. What's this extra second called?Use in quizUse

Answer:A leap second(click to reveal)

30The name of which month comes from the Latin for "ten", because it was originally the tenth month of the Roman calendar?Use in quizUse

Answer:December(click to reveal)

Round 4: Famous firsts on 1 January

31Which Londoner began writing his famous diary on 1 January 1660?Use in quizUse

Answer:Samuel Pepys(click to reveal)

He kept it for almost ten years and recorded the Great Fire of London.

32Which dwarf planet, the largest object in the asteroid belt, was discovered on 1 January 1801 by the Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi?Use in quizUse

Answer:Ceres(click to reveal)

33Which US president's Emancipation Proclamation took effect on 1 January 1863?Use in quizUse

Answer:Abraham Lincoln(click to reveal)

34Which immigration station in New York Harbor opened on 1 January 1892?Use in quizUse

Answer:Ellis Island(click to reveal)

35Which African country, then the largest on the continent, became independent from Britain and Egypt on 1 January 1956?Use in quizUse

Answer:Sudan(click to reveal)

36Along with Denmark and Ireland, which country joined the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973?Use in quizUse

Answer:The United Kingdom(click to reveal)

37On 1 January 1983, the ARPANET switched to a new pair of networking protocols, often called the birthday of the modern internet. What pair?Use in quizUse

Answer:TCP/IP(click to reveal)

38Which country split peacefully into two separate states on 1 January 1993?Use in quizUse

Answer:Czechoslovakia (into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)(click to reveal)

39Which trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico came into force on 1 January 1994?Use in quizUse

Answer:NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement)(click to reveal)

40Euro notes and coins entered everyday use in twelve countries on 1 January 2002. In which year had the currency first been introduced electronically?Use in quizUse

Answer:1999(click to reveal)

Round 5: New Year in film and TV, plus an end-of-year round

41In which 1989 romcom does Harry run through the streets of New York to tell Sally he loves her at a New Year's Eve party?Use in quizUse

Answer:When Harry Met Sally(click to reveal)

42Which fictional diarist starts the year with a list of resolutions, including to stop smoking and lose weight?Use in quizUse

Answer:Bridget Jones(click to reveal)

43In which 1972 disaster film does a giant wave capsize a cruise liner on New Year's Eve?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Poseidon Adventure(click to reveal)

44Which Frank Capra film ends with the townsfolk singing "Auld Lang Syne"?Use in quizUse

Answer:It's a Wonderful Life(click to reveal)

45A British comedy sketch about an old lady's 90th birthday dinner is shown on German TV every New Year's Eve, and has been for decades. What is it called?Use in quizUse

Answer:Dinner for One(click to reveal)

It's barely known in Britain, which makes it a good trick question for a mixed crowd.

46Which pianist hosts the BBC's long-running New Year's Eve music party, "Hootenanny"?Use in quizUse

Answer:Jools Holland(click to reveal)

47In the UK, which annual list of public service awards is announced on 31 December?Use in quizUse

Answer:The New Year Honours(click to reveal)

48What name is given to abstaining from alcohol for the month of January?Use in quizUse

Answer:Dry January(click to reveal)

49Magnum is the name of a 1.5 litre bottle of champagne. What's the name of the 3 litre bottle?Use in quizUse

Answer:A jeroboam(click to reveal)

50On what date is Burns Night, the next big date on the party calendar?Use in quizUse

Answer:25 January(click to reveal)

How to run a quiz on New Year's Eve

Timing matters more than on a normal quiz night. Start early, around 9pm, and plan to finish an hour before midnight. A quiz that runs into the countdown ends badly: half the room is trying to find the champagne and nobody cares about the tiebreaker.

Run it in short bursts. Rounds of ten work well because you can slot one in between drinks, between courses or between games, rather than asking everyone to sit still for an hour. Score each round on paper and tally at the end.

Keep teams small and informal. Couples against couples works, or just let people mix. If you're hosting a big crowd, our pub quiz maker will put the questions on a screen and keep score. For more round ideas, see our guide to quiz round ideas, and if you've got children at the party, the family Christmas quiz suits a mixed-age crowd.

First big date of the new year is Burns Night on 25 January, with its own Burns Night quiz questions. The 2027 quiz calendar has the rest.