The Eiffel Tower will become a “giant Chistmas tree” as Paris rings in the New Year with a spectacular light and music show, city officials said Wednesday.

The “unique and magical” display will round off a year which saw the tower, one of the world’s most visited sites, mark its 120th birthday and usher in a new decade.

The fete begins at 11:30 pm with the 12-minute display that has been shown every night since October to mark the anniversary, using state-of-the-art LED spotlights.

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich will be hosting what promises to be one of the most extravagant bashes anywhere to see in the new decade.

He and his girlfriend Daria Zhukova, are expected to spend up to $4.8m on a beach party for 250 people on the Caribbean resort island of Saint Barthélemy.

The London Times reports that the singer Prince is to perform for them for a fee said to be $760,000.

As popping corks announce the New Year, champagne lovers can expect some radical new trends in the art of savouring a tipple that for centuries has been associated with celebration.

The true connoisseur should ditch the traditional long-stemmed flutes and the saucer-shaped coupes and instead start drinking the sparkling white wine from elongated, tulip-shaped glasses, say the experts.

And those seeking to be truly avant-garde should start serving the finest bubbly from carafes.