<P> The Irish national television channel RTÉ produced a marathon 19 - hour broadcast called Millennium Eve: Celebrate 2000 . </P> <P> Rio de Janeiro held a special party led by Gal Costa at minutes to midnight . South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands became the first place in the Americas to celebrate the millennium but with no person on it, all of the British inhabitants chose to spend the midnight celebrations back at GMT time </P> <P> In Newfoundland and Labrador a concert was held that was broadcast to thousands of Canadians as the small island celebrated being the first place in North America to welcome the twenty - first century . Meanwhile, in Bermuda celebrations were marked as the first Caribbean nation to crossover to the new millennium reached it highest at midnight . </P> <P> In Ottawa, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien presided over celebrations on Parliament Hill, which included artistic performances and a midnight fireworks display launched from the Peace Tower . </P>

When did the world celebrate its recent millennium