NEW YEAR
This is the reason why the New Year countdown takes place in Times Square: This is how the tradition started
A tradition which began over a century ago. A huge, 12-foot crystal ball will descend in the iconic square to usher in the New Year.
Every city, town, village - regardless of their size, usually has a meeting point where residents can congregate to welcome in the New Year. Fireworks light up Sydney Harbor - one of the first places where the clock strikes 12 on 31 December; Londoners head to Trafalgar Square, in Rio, people make a beeline for Copacabana Beach while in Tokyo, Shibuya crossing is the place to be, right at the heart of the city’s Ōmisoka celebrations.
One Times Square in NYC on New Year’s Eve
And in New York, the most iconic setting to congregate on New Year’s Eve is Times Square, along Broadway in Manhattan, between the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Rockefeller Center, where an estimated one million revelers will ring in 2025 later tonight.
Celebrations begin at 6 p.m. with the official switch on when the New Year’s Eve Ball is lit up and raised. Musical entertainment starts at 8 p.m. and continues leading up to midnight with live performances from TLC, Carrie Underwood, the Jonas Brothers and Kapo among others.
Of course the big moment is when the clock strikes 12, as we see out the year just gone and welcome in the New Year. In New York City, the culminates with the famous ball drop - a huge 12-foot crystal ball perched on the roof of One Times Square is lowered down a pole.
When did New Yorkers start celebrating NYE at Times Square?
The tradition to celebrate New Year in front of One Times Square dates back to 1904 when the owners of the a 25-story, neo-Gothic skyscraper took to the roof of the building to greet the New Year.
The first Ball Lowering celebration took place three years later in 1907, beginning a tradition that continues to this day. Only twice has the ball not been lowered - in 1942 and 1943 when New York City was subjected to wartime dimouts. The use of nighttime lighting was restricted across the city as a precaution due to fears that Luftwaffe bombers could attack.
Today, the New Year’s ball is illuminated with 32,256 LED bulbs in red, blue, green and white. At the stroke of midnight, the lights on the ball are turned off as the numerals of the New Year 2025 shine above the throngs below in Times Square.