Up to 50,000 people are expected in Belfast city centre tonight to herald the new millennium, with celebrations in towns and villages across the North designed to reflect people's hopes for a peaceful future.
The Belfast singer Brian Kennedy will usher in 2000 from a stage outside the City Hall, and a further two venues in the city centre will provide a varied programme of entertainment.
At Lanyon Place by the Waterfront Hall, the Abba tribute band Bjorn Again will lead the midnight celebrations with a spectacular fireworks display lighting up the sky. Jazz-lovers are expected to congregate at the indoor setting of St George's Market for an array of local talent.
Two giant screens will be installed to allow the people of Belfast join in the huge global party, with highlights of the best events from around the world as they happen. Other New Year's Eve events in the city include a family funfair in Victoria Square and a fireworks display by the Lagan.
A special shuttle bus service will operate on five routes tonight and tomorrow as the party continues on New Year's night with open-air concerts from The Saw Doctors and The AfroCelt Sound System.
The party begins at 11 a.m. today in Derry with a day-long programme of music, dancing and fireworks. Some 2,000 voices will perform Danny Boy in the Guildhall Square and a procession of light along the city walls is also planned.
In Omagh, the town centre will come to a standstill this afternoon as the town's church leaders hold a joint ecumenical service. The victims of the 1998 bombing atrocity will be remembered with a service in the garden of remembrance.
Today the people of Belfast have been invited to come together to celebrate the new year with a special interdenominational gathering outside Belfast City Hall at 1 p.m., one hour after the first dawn of the new millennium.
A joint ecumenical service will also be held in St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh at noon today, with a special service for peace on New Year's Day presided over by the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Sean Brady.
The largest Church of Ireland service will be the Watchnight service in St Anne's Cathedral Belfast, where the preacher will be the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Robin Eames. The Presbyterian Moderator, Dr John Lockington, will be involved in his home congregation of Gardenmore, Larne, where a torchlit march of witness will be held.