Events for students in Europe

There's a novel way to cure the traditional New Year's hangover - the Berlin New Year Run. Starting at the Brandenburg Gate, brave souls run four kilometres in sub-zero temperatures around some of Berlin's most famous sights.

Dress up warmly for Cheltenham Racecourse's New Year's Day meeting, a family favourite that attracts large crowds every year. Cheer on your favourites at the home of National Hunt racing, or join those enjoying a hair-of-the-dog tipple at the bar...

Bearing in mind the Scottish propensity for old-fashioned revelry, one would expect a few choruses of Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve. In this spirit Edinburgh hosts four days of festivities including processions, concerts and a world-famous street party.

Venture through eerie, mystical woods this Christmas with a spellbinding performance of Hansel and Gretel at The Southbank Centre.

Hundreds of people gather at Lido di Venezia to celebrate the New Year.

The Russian State Ballet performs classic ballet Swan Lake in Lisbon's Coliseu dos Recreios.

Teams of two embark on a gruelling non-stop voyage around the globe as part of the Barcelona World Race. The 25,000-mile journey starts and ends in the Catalonian capital, and is expected to take the competitors three months to complete.

Capodanno Love is Venice's huge celebration in Piazza San Marco boasting a stunning outdoor scenography. Its slogan, "Come and kiss in Venice", attracts more than 70,000 people here, who kiss to welcome in the new year.

The Perthshire village of Comrie lights up for New Year. Hundreds of locals gather in the village square for a ceremony of eight flambeaux (fired torches), which process around the village before being ceremonially thrown into the River Earn.

One of Reading's busiest clubs, complete with leather sofas and a lot of red velvet, this is a night for serious musos and serious dancing. Resident Carl Nicholson and guests play a mixed bag selected from across the dance music spectrum but with the emphasis on house.

Over 100,000 revellers take to Glasgow's streets on New Year's Eve, including 25,000 who are lucky enough (or organised enough) to get tickets for George Square. That's where the main celebration takes place, including Scotland's biggest outdoor ceilidh.

The Vienna Balls are seen as the epitome of glamour and decadence and present a perfect opportunity to waltz yourself into the stunning winter atmosphere of the city. The traditional opener is the Kaiserball at the Hofburg palace.

Every month, Noyon's principal streets and the Place de l'Hotel de Ville are taken over by the Marché de Franc, a large provincial market which sells fruit, vegetables, seasonal flowers, wine, champagne and clothes.

Celebrate New Year at Alcatraz, a major Milanese music venue sporting a heavy post-industrial techno-fortress look.

Kick-start the New Year by grape-gobbling to the chimes of Seville's town hall bells. Hundreds of revellers gather in La Plaza Nueva on the big night to ceremonially eat 12 grapes, one for each stroke of midnight.

New Year's Eve (Novy God in Russian) tends to be celebrated amongst family inside homes until midnight. As New Year arrives, people take to the streets and go calling on friends and neighbours, drinking whatever they are offered until dawn.

Thousands gather in Krakow's Main Square on New Year's Eve to celebrate with fireworks and live music. Large screens on the Town Hall Tower and behind the Adam Mickiewicz monument help the neck-craning crowds see all the action on stage.

See in the New Year Spanish-style by gobbling grapes in Madrid. Every year on Nochevieja, huge crowds gather in the Puerta del Sol and everyone eats 12 grapes in time with the 12 strokes of midnight.

Perhaps the most decadent event to take place in Budapest, the New Year's Gala Concert at the Hungarian State Opera House is the party of the season. A lavish programme of classical music and plenty of champagne keep guests entertained.

Every New Year's Eve, Madrid locals offset their Christmas overindulgences on a 10km dash through the capital's Vallecas district.