Popping Corks Everywhere

KATMANDU, NEPAL Climbing Mount Everest On New Year's Eve, a hardy band will camp at a 12,900-ft.-high monastery and dance with local Sherpas --$2,050, plus airfare --At least 30 expected

IN AND AROUND MALAYSIA Parachute Jumps In an event promoted by the Malaysian government, sky divers will fly to the South Pole for the first of five jumps --$4 million to stage --23 divers

DIOMEDE ISLANDS, RUSSIA AND THE U.S. A Stroll Across The Date Line With snowshoes, adventurers will walk between the islands --$12,000 for the tour --3 signed up so far

THE PACIFIC OCEAN Double Take at The Date Line Cruise ships will cross the international date line at midnight--and double back to celebrate the millennium twice --$30,000 to $115,000 --More than 500 passengers

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Fireworks Down Under The biggest pyrotechnics display in the South Pacific will light up Sydney Harbor Bridge --$3.5 million to stage --1 million at the harbor

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA Barbra Streisand In Concert The first diva will hold court at the MGM Grand. Also entertaining in Vegas: Elton John, Bette Midler and Celine Dion --500 to $2,500/ticket --13,000

RORAIMA, BRAZIL The Amazon Jungle The Yanomami tribe, which has no calendar, will ignore the millennium and most likely go to bed early in their thatched huts --Free --About 20,000 Yanomami remain

LONDON The Millennium Dome The Queen will light a beacon, then boat down the Thames to officially open Britain's millennium landmark --Invitation only --10,000 guests

NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA St. John's Coast Onlookers on the rocky shore will be the first in North America to greet the new millennium --Free --50,000 to 100,000 expected

NEW YORK CITY Times Square The ball is now Waterford crystal, and a parade will feature 150 giant puppets --Free --More than 1 million expected

WASHINGTON National Mall A sound-and-light display at the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, following a Spielberg-produced film on the 20th century --Free --600,000 expected

AROUND THE WORLD Flying on the Concorde Highflyers will depart on Dec. 24 for a supersonic trip around the world in 18 days --$75,000 --96 passengers expected

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL Copacabana Beach Partygoers dressed in white will boogie to pagode and axe music --Free --2 million expected

PARIS, FRANCE The Champs Elysees At midnight, 24 giant Ferris wheels, one like a snowball, will turn --Free --1 million expected

GIZA, EGYPT The Pyramids A helicopter will place a golden 30-ft.-high pyramid atop the biggest pyramid during Act 2 of an electronic opera --$15 to $400 --50,000 expected

SOUTH AFRICA Robben Island Mandela will watch a laser-beam countdown on Table Mountain from his former jail --Invitation only --A few hundred