New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve quiz
Twenty questions to fill the gap before midnight, in four rounds: what happens when the clock strikes, how the rest of the world sees in the New Year, other new years, and songs and films.
A shortened quiz, to play solo
20 questions to play on your own, online. Type your answers and get your score at the end. No PDFs and no group play.
Playing with other people? Get the full quiz
- 50 questions, none of them on this page
- Question and answer PDFs, with answer sheets and tie-breakers
- Host it live: a private game room, everyone answers on their phones
- Questions
- 20
- Rounds
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy to hard
Round 01
At midnight
- Difficulty: easy
Which song is traditionally sung at midnight on New Year's Eve?
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Auld Lang Syne
- Difficulty: medium
Which poet wrote down the words of "Auld Lang Syne"?
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Robert Burns
Also accept: Burns, Rabbie Burns
- Difficulty: easy
The chimes of which famous bell ring in the New Year in London?
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Big Ben
- Difficulty: easy
What do people make on 1 January, and often break by February?
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New Year's resolutions
Also accept: Resolutions, A resolution, New Year resolutions
- Difficulty: medium
January is named after which Roman god of doorways and beginnings?
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Janus
Round 02
Around the world
- Difficulty: hard
In Denmark, what do people smash against their friends' front doors for luck at New Year?
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Plates
Also accept: Crockery, Old plates, Dishes
- Difficulty: easy
Which Australian city's harbour fireworks are among the first big displays to welcome the New Year?
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Sydney
- Difficulty: easy
What drops at midnight in Times Square, New York?
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A ball
Also accept: The ball, A crystal ball, Ball
- Difficulty: hard
In Japan, how many times are temple bells rung to see out the old year?
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108
- Difficulty: hard
In Brazil, what colour do people traditionally wear on New Year's Eve for luck?
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White
Round 03
Other new years
- Difficulty: hard
The islands of which Pacific country are the first inhabited places to see in the New Year?
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Kiribati
- Difficulty: medium
In which two months can Chinese New Year fall?
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January or February
Also accept: January and February, Jan or Feb, January, February
- Difficulty: medium
What is the Jewish New Year called?
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Rosh Hashanah
Also accept: Rosh Hashana
- Difficulty: medium
Which part of the UK has an extra bank holiday on 2 January?
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Scotland
- Difficulty: medium
Which calendar, introduced in 1582, does most of the world use today?
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The Gregorian calendar
Also accept: Gregorian
Round 04
Songs and screen
- Difficulty: easy
Which musician hosts the BBC's "Hootenanny" every New Year's Eve?
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Jools Holland
- Difficulty: easy
Which Swedish group released "Happy New Year" in 1980?
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ABBA
- Difficulty: medium
Which Irish band had a hit with "New Year's Day" in 1983?
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U2
- Difficulty: medium
Which 1989 film ends with Billy Crystal running to a New Year's Eve party to find Meg Ryan?
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When Harry Met Sally
Also accept: When Harry Met Sally...
- Difficulty: hard
Edinburgh's New Year's Day swimmers take their "Loony Dook" in which stretch of water?
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The Firth of Forth
Also accept: Firth of Forth, The Forth, River Forth, The River Forth
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Now play it with everyone
That was the free solo version. The New Year's Eve Quiz has 50 brand-new questions in 5 rounds, with question and answer PDFs to print, or host it live with everyone on their phones. Instant download.
Solo is free. Playing with a group? That’s the full quiz.
Free version · this page
A shortened quiz, solo only
20 questions to play on your own, online
- 20 questions, marked for you
- Your score, answers and explanations at the end
- No PDFs: nothing to print or hand round
- No group hosting or live game room
- No team answer sheets or tie-breakers
- Anyone can look these questions up
Full version · £4.99
Everything you need to host a group
The New Year's Eve Quiz
- A longer quiz: 50 questions (this page has 20), none of them on this site
- Host pack with questions and answers (PDF)
- Traditions, midnight around the world, a party playlist round, films and TV
- Team answer sheets and scoresheet
- Two tie-breakers
- Host it live for 30 days: a private game room with a join code, everyone answers on their phones, live leaderboard, up to 100 players
- For family and friends · instant download, and it never expires
Quiz Box Unlimited
Every quiz. One price.
- All 24 quiz packs (1,680 questions) to download, plus every new one
- Host them online: players join on their phones with a QR code or link
- Play any quiz solo, game-show style
- Cancel any time
Spotted a mistake, or got a question you'd like to see? Tell us
How to run it
- Start at eleven and you'll finish in good time for the bells.
- Losers of each round top up everyone's glasses.
- None of the questions depend on the year, so you can use it every 31 December.