If you're reading this, you probably aren't going to be making the New Year's Eve scene this year with Oprah, Leonardo or Diddy, who are likely celebrating out of town. But you can check out:
There's nothing better than the elixir of fresh mountain air to keep those smiles taut and tight in between Botox shots, which is why the who's who of Hollywood love to spend NYE in Glitter Gulch. The ''it'' party is the one thrown by songwriter Denise Rich at her mountaintop manse.
Mere mortals will almost definitely run into the likes of Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Don Johnson, Diana Ross, Katie Couric and Ivana Trump at 'The Boo,' aka The Caribou Club (411 E. Hopkins Ave.; 970-925- 2929; ), and at Aspen's swankest stay, The Little Nell (675 E.
Durant Ave.; 970-920-4600; ) where room prices -- starting at $470 -- are anything but little.
Those who can't do New Year's like Diddy, DiCaprio and Microsoft mogul Paul Allen do -- on megayachts, of course -- not to worry: this tiny, tony Caribbean island is always crawling with celebrities.
Hangouts include Maya's (Public, Gustavia; (011-590-590) 277-573; ), the casual seaside boite favored by Jimmy Buffet and Martha Stewart; Casa Nikki (Plage de St. Jean; (011-590-590) 276-464; www.nikkibeach .
com), the Barth's branch of Miami's very own Nikki Beach Club where Enrique Iglesias and Anna Kournikova partied last year; and Le Yacht Club (Rue Jeanne d'Arc; (011-590-690) 492-333; ), where Usher, Mariah Carey, Jay Z and Beyonce have been known to pop bottles of bubbly. If you don't have a private villa, make like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner and hang your weary heads at the haute Hotel Guanahani Spa (Grand Cul de Sac; (011-590-590) 529-036; ).
Blame it on the Copacabana Palace [(011-55-21) 2548-7070; ], with its fab penthouses and proximity to seductive beaches.
For the past few years, New York event planner Geo Darder (formerly of Miami) and Rocco Ancarola, a Hamptons socialite and partner in NYC's hip Pink Elephant, have thrown an A-plus list party at the Copa. Past guests have included Matt Dillon; Jared Leto; and Andreas Casiraghi, son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, and girlfriend Tatiana Santo Domingo, heiress to the Avianca fortune. This year's three-day event ( ) benefits the Dreams Can Be Foundation, dedicated to aiding impoverished youth in Brazil.
Thousands of impeccably dressed partiers will crowd Paris's most famous thoroughfare, the Champs Elys e es. Afterwards, many will head to La Suite, (40 Avenue George V; (011-33-1) 5357-4949; ) or to the venerable R e gine's (49 rue de Ponthieu; (011-33-1) 4359-2113; ), where a new regime of hipsters will ring in the New Year. For Johnny Depp sightings, consider Mandala Ray (32 rue Marboeuf; (011-33-1) 5688-3636; ), the restaurant-lounge he co-owns along with Sean Penn and John Malkovich, or sip cocktails next to Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek at celeb-saturated Le Bar at the Plaza Athen e e (25 Avenue Montaigne; (011-33-1) 5367-6665; ).
The Ritz-Carlton Berlin (Potsdamer Platz 3; (011-49-30) 337-777; ) is the place favored by everyone from Brit pop star Robbie Williams to rapper 50 Cent, but we're told the real exclusive parties take place on private boats and at Felix (Behrenstrasse 72; (011-49-30) 206-2860; ), a club and restaurant near the Brandenburg Gate whose VIP clientele includes Colin Farrell, Will Smith and Nicholas Cage. Mere mortals will pack Silvester, the outdoor New Year's Eve megabash at the historic Brandenburg Gate, where music, fireworks and hopeful sightings of Germany's beloved David Hasselhoff help to make it all worthwhile.
Celebs tend to stay away from Gotham -- too many other people on the party scene, says Helen Clarke, publicist for BED in NY and Miami.
''It's the days before that get the high celeb quotient, before they've all packed off to St. Barth's for privacy.'' That aside, NYC -- and soon Miami Beach -- celeb hot spot Pacha (618 W.
46th St.; 212-209-7500; ), one of Diddy's favorite haunts, is throwing a $125-per-person bash featuring a marathon set by DJ Jonathan Peters and a show produced by Cirque du Soleil's talent director, Anne Marie Duchne.
Party girl Tara Reid says she wishes she could do what she did last year and party in Punta del Este, Uruguay, the South American playground for the rich and famous.
(Instead, she'll be freezing her silicone off in Chicago, where she's appearing at a nightclub.) Those who did make it to Punta will likely hang at Mantra (La Barra de Maldonado; (011-598-42) 771-000; ), a sexy beach resort and club located on Manantiales Beach in the trendy La Barra; and Posada Le Club (Av. de los Cangrejos and Av.
del Mar; (011-598-42) 772-082; ), also in La Barra, featuring just 10 rooms and a stellar bar scene.
Oprah, Steadman, Gayle, of course, Nelson Mandela and 100 of the talk show titan's closest friends will spend New Year's in Johannesburg, South Africa, which Oprah's party planner guru Colin Cowie called ''the Paris of South Africa.'' Expected guests include Julia Roberts and John Travolta; the evening benefits the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, opening Jan.
2. The party's exact location is a secret, but you can probably still ogle Oprah and friends at places like the ritzy Intercontinental Palazzo Hotel (William Nicol/Montecasino Blvd.; (011-27-11) 510-3000; ), the favored stay of Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie and Pavarotti; or at the Saxon Hotel (36 Saxon Road Sandhurst; (011-27-11) 292-6000; ), where Jay-Z and Beyonce were seen lounging poolside a few months ago.
For traditional African fare, Gramadoelas (Bree Street, Newtown; (011-27-11) 838-6960; ) has served fried crocodile tail to the likes of Elton John and Bill Clinton -- surely both invited to Oprah's bash. Right, Oprah?
The cast of ABC's trippy hit series may be Lost, but in Hawaii, celebs are most likely to be found at the Halekulani's (2199 Kalia Road; 800-367-2343 ; ) annual beachfront New Year's bash at Orchids restaurant, where Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman have been lei-ed.
Past guests at the chic hotel have included Cuba Gooding Jr., Matt Lauer, Bette Midler and Diana Krall. Another star hit: Seaside Grill (5000 Kahala Ave.
; 808-739-8770; ), where Janet Jackson and Will Smith have been spotted, or throw yourself completely into Hawaiian culture like Clay Aiken did at Waikiki's only beachfront luau, The Royal Hawaiian Luau ($95.95 adults; $81.95 children; The Sheraton Waikiki, 2255 Kalakaua Ave; 808-356-1800; ).
(The Lost cast often hangs at The Hanohano Room, located on the 30th floor of the same hotel.)
Here are bashes you might be able to make -- if you have an ''in.'' The most buzzworthy New Year's Eve party locally will be held at Social Miami at the Sagamore (1671 Collins Ave.
, 786-594-3344; ) and a limo-load of promised celebrity hosts. Hosting the $250 bash at Mansion (136 Collins Ave., 305-531-5535; ) are tabloid darlings Wilmer Valderrama and Travis Barker with DJ AM -- best known as Nicole Richie's ex -- spinning.
Whatever celebs haven't fled Tinseltown for Miami, St. Barth's or Aspen may be at the Gridlock bash ( ) at the Paramount Pictures Studios -- though they probably won't be the ones with the $100 general admission tickets. If you miss this year, you can probably make it next: This is the second annual event, with the Paramount backlot transformed into five New York-themed stages.
Carmen Electra is slated as the New York area host and Pamela Anderson as the VIP lounge host. (''Flaunt Celebrity VIP'' tickets cost $1,000.) Despite his recent breakup with Anderson, Kid Rock is expected to perform at midnight.
It was quite the scandal last year in Vegas when Paris Hilton was paid $100,000 to host Tao's (3355 Las Vegas Blvd.; 702-414-9000; ) New Year's party and didn't show up. What a sin!
We wouldn't bet on perfect attendance at any party, but it's a good bet that all the members of Five for Fighting, All American Rejects, Rockstar: Supernova, Smash Mouth, OK Go and Chicago (!) will show up to perform at Fremont Street's New Year's Eve bash ( ), a televised musical extravaganza complete with fireworks, showgirls and celebrity guests. By day, the high rollers will most likely be lounging at the ultraprivate, VIP pool area at the Wynn (702-770-7100; ), where cabanas go for $350.
News RSS