The event on New Year’s Day will be held at Castle Field between 17:30 and 18:30 GMT, beginning with a performance by samba-reggae percussion band Batala Portsmouth.
It will be followed by the screening of a short film, celebrating the city’s history, culture and communities.
At 18:15, a new artwork by Turner Prize-nominated artist Nathan Coley will be illuminated at Southsea Castle lighthouse.
His piece, OUTWITHSIDEWAYSOMEWHEREWITH, will bring the lighthouse back into use following its decommissioning in 2017.
The artist said: “As the text travels around the lighthouse, it creates a sense of movement which echoes the blinking of the original light that would have been seen out to sea when the lighthouse was a working structure.”
A five-minute firework finale will bring the event to a close.