New Year’s Eve ball drop countdown: How to watch the festivities at Times Square in NYC

An estimated one million people are expected to pack into New York’s Times Square on Sunday, as the Big Apple once again takes centre stage in the United States’ New Year’s Eve celebrations.

With millions more watching on TV and online nationwide, the iconic New Year’s Eve ball will begin its descent from the flagpole atop the One Times Square building at 11:59pm ET, marking out the final minute of 2025. Once the ball has dropped, a giant ‘2026′ sign will be illuminated, heralding the beginning of the New Year.

What time does the New York New Year’s Eve countdown start?

The festivities in Times Square are scheduled to begin at 6pm ET, with a host of musical performances by major stars lined up throughout the evening.

How can I watch the New York New Year’s Eve countdown?

If you can’t make it out to Times Square, you can watch a live webcast of the New Year’s Eve countdown on TimesSquareNYC.org, hosted by Jonathan Bennett and Jeremy Hassell. You can also stream it on NewYearsEve.nyc and TimesSquareBall.net, and watch on YouTube.

In addition, TV viewers in the US have a choice of New Year’s Eve live shows that will be broadcasting from Times Square. They include Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest, which gets going on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

Related stories

Celebrations

Seeing in the New Year at Times Square

Society

Nostradamus predicts “great flood” for 2026

CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live With Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen also begins at 8pm.

Univision will also have a live show with Xavi and Ana Bárbara to celebrate the New Year from “Nueva York”.