Ras Al Khaimah’s New Year’s Eve has grown into one of the biggest nights in the UAE, and for 2027 it becomes a full festival. RAK NYE 2027 runs for 11 hours at Jais Festival Ground, from 4pm on 31 December 2026 to 3am on 1 January 2027, and ends the year with a fireworks and drone Sky Show over the coast. Entry is free, but there is one big change from previous years: every guest, including children, has to register online in advance. Here is everything you need to know.
RAK NYE 2027 at a glance
- Date: Thursday 31 December 2026, 4pm to 3am
- Venue: Jais Festival Ground, on the Al Marjan Island waterfront
- Price: Free, with compulsory online registration
- Registration opens: 15 November on raknye.com
- Sky Show (fireworks and drones): 11.50pm to 12.05am (provisional)
- Early fireworks: 9pm at Manar Mall, no registration needed
- Parking: Exit 122 only, free, opens at 10am
- Shuttles: free, from 4pm, last bus at 3am
- Road closures: from 7pm
How to register for RAK NYE 2027
Registration opens on 15 November on the official RAK NYE website. After you register, you receive a QR code by email, and you must show it at the festival entrance. Nobody gets in without one, and that includes children, who must be added to an adult’s registration and stay with them all night.
There are three ways to register:
- Festival guest: one main guest plus up to four others (children included) and one car. Larger groups simply register again.
- Al Marjan Island resident: covers your household and guests, with two digital car passes per apartment.
- Hotel guest: one main guest plus up to four others and one car pass, subject to availability. You upload your hotel booking confirmation when you register.
Registration matters even if you are not going to the festival itself: on 31 December, Al Marjan Island is open to registered visitors only, and that includes people going to its hotels and restaurants. If you are driving to RAK for the night, register as soon as it opens.
The RAK NYE Sky Show
The highlight is the RAK NYE Sky Show, a combined fireworks and synchronised drone display that welcomes 2027 at midnight over the open coast. It is scheduled from 11.50pm to 12.05am, though organisers say timings are provisional. Ras Al Khaimah’s New Year shows have set Guinness World Records titles almost every year, and last year’s display was watched by more than 120,000 people. If you can’t be there, the Sky Show is streamed live on raknye.com.
Hotel guests on Al Marjan Island can also watch the show over the water from their resort.
What’s on at the festival
- Stage Zone: live DJs from 5pm until 3am, pausing for the parades and the Sky Show, hosted by MC Parikshit, with a DJ countdown party into midnight and an afterparty until 3am.
- Family Zone: more than 25 activities, including giant chess, mini golf, football shooting, balloon darts, soft play and a 360-degree video booth.
- Walking Carnival: roaming parades at 7.30pm, 8.30pm and 9.30pm with Arabic dance, acrobats, jugglers, LED characters and mascots.
- Food trucks: food and drink all evening (food and games run until 2am).
Early fireworks at Manar Mall (no registration)
If you have young children or don’t want to deal with registration and road closures, Ras Al Khaimah also has a separate fireworks display at 9pm at Manar Mall in the city centre, visible from the mall and the Corniche. You don’t need to register to watch it.
Parking, shuttles and road closures
This is the part to plan carefully. Exit 122 is the only public car park for the festival. It is free, opens at 10am and works on a first come, first served basis. From E311, take Exit 119, follow Al Shuhada Road and take the first right onto Al Samil Road.
Free shuttle buses run in both directions between Exit 122 and Jais Festival Ground from 4pm, with the last one leaving at 3am. Roads close at 7pm, private cars cannot drive to the festival and roadside parking is not allowed. Taxis, ride-hailing cars and private drivers can drop you at Exit 122, but everyone in the car must be registered.
Coming from Dubai? Ras Al Khaimah is about an hour away without traffic, but the E311 and E11 through Umm Al Quwain are extremely busy on New Year’s Eve. Leave by early afternoon, or book a hotel and stay the night: 1 January is a public holiday.
What to bring and what to leave at home
Bring: your QR code, a charged phone and power bank, comfortable shoes, warm layers, a small foldable chair, essential medication and baby supplies.
Leave at home: outside food and drinks (baby food and medical items are allowed), alcohol, barbecues and gas, fireworks, sparklers, flares, drones, laser pointers, glass, pets, tents, gazebos, picnic blankets, coolers, large bags and suitcases, bicycles and e-scooters. Bags are checked at every entrance.
Facilities and safety
The festival has toilets, accessible toilets, baby-changing areas and prayer rooms, plus two first aid tents. Lost children are taken to the Info Desk near the Walking Carnival. Weather updates are posted on the RAK NYE website and social media, and registered guests receive them by email.
RAK NYE 2027: frequently asked questions
Is RAK NYE 2027 free?
Yes. Entry to the festival at Jais Festival Ground is free, but every guest, including children, must register online and show a QR code at the entrance.
When does RAK NYE 2027 registration open?
Registration opens on 15 November on the official RAK NYE website. Each registration covers one main guest, up to four others and one car.
What time are the Ras Al Khaimah fireworks on New Year’s Eve?
The RAK NYE Sky Show runs from 11.50pm to 12.05am, with fireworks and drones at midnight. There is also an earlier 9pm fireworks display at Manar Mall.
Where do I park for RAK NYE?
Exit 122 is the only public car park. It is free and opens at 10am, and free shuttles run to the festival from 4pm until 3am. Roads close at 7pm.
Can I watch the RAK fireworks without registering?
You need to register for the festival and for access to Al Marjan Island on 31 December. You can watch the 9pm Manar Mall fireworks without registering, or watch the Sky Show on the official livestream.
For hotel galas, family options and every confirmed event in the emirate, see our full New Year’s Eve in Ras Al Khaimah guide, or compare the celebrations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and across the UAE.
Programme and timings are subject to change by the organisers. Source: official RAK NYE information at raknye.com.