92-507: The Times Square Ball is a time ball located in New York City 's Times Square . Located on the roof of One Times Square , the ball is a prominent part of a New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square commonly referred to as the ball drop , where the ball descends down a specially designed flagpole , beginning at 11:59:00 p.m. ET , and resting at midnight to signal the start of
184-679: A "Noon Gun" is fired daily from the citadels in Halifax and Quebec City and from Signal Hill in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador . In the same manner, a Noon Gun has been fired in Cape Town , since 1806. The gun is fired daily from the Lion Battery at Signal Hill . The Noonday Gun serves a similar purpose in Hong Kong . The tradition, which started in the 1860s under British colonial rule, has become
276-463: A "Wishing Wall" set up in Times Square in December (where visitors can write messages on them directly), and via online submissions.. Since the 2005–06 edition of the event, the drop has been directly preceded by the playing of John Lennon 's song " Imagine " at 11:55 p.m. Until 2009–2010, the original recording was used; since 2010–2011, the song has been performed by the headlining artist; After
368-568: A "clang" that originates from the Nauvoo Bell on Temple Square, in Salt Lake City, which has been a staple on the station since the early 1960s. In Canada, the national English-language non-commercial CBC Radio One network broadcast the daily National Research Council Time Signal from 5 November 1939 until 9 October 2023. The simulcast would occur daily at 1pm Eastern Time . Its French-language counterpart, Radio-Canada , broadcasts
460-576: A bigger spectacle at the building to draw more attention to the area. The newspaper's chief electrician, Walter F. Palmer, suggested using a time ball , after seeing one used on the Western Union Telegraph Building , near Trinity Church. Ochs hired sign designer Artkraft Strauss to construct a ball for the celebration; it was built from iron and wood, illuminated by a hundred incandescent light bulbs , weighed 700 pounds (320 kg), and measured 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter. The ball
552-416: A city, as in the city of Gaza in the post-Alexander era, and as described by Procopius in his book on Edifices. Time ball stations set their clocks according to transit observations of the positions of the sun and stars. Originally they either had to be stationed at the observatory , or had to keep a very accurate clock at the station which was set manually to observatory time. Following the introduction of
644-435: A national or regional longwave digital signal; for example, station WWVB in the U.S. . The audio portions of the shortwave WWV and WWVH broadcasts can also be heard by telephone. The time announcements are normally delayed by less than 30 ms when using land lines from within the continental United States, and the stability (delay variation) is generally less than 1 ms. However, when mobile phones are used,
736-404: A new design constructed by Waterford Crystal . The year 2000 celebrations introduced more prominent sponsorship to the event; companies such as Discover Card , Korbel Champagne , and Panasonic were announced as official sponsors of the festivities in Times Square. The city also announced that Ron Silver would lead a committee known as "NYC 2000", which was in charge of organizing events across
828-477: A pen and are prohibited from bringing backpacks or alcohol to the event. Security was increased further for its 2017–18 edition due to recent incidents such as the truck attack in New York on October 31 , and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting ; these included additional patrols of Times Square hotels, rooftop patrol squads and counter-snipers, and the installation of reflective markers on buildings to help officers identify
920-506: A signal that allows automatic synchronization of clocks, and commercial broadcasters still include time signals in their programming. Today, global navigation satellite systems ( GNSS ) radio signals are used to precisely distribute time signals over much of the world. There are many commercially available radio controlled clocks available to accurately indicate the local time, both for business and residential use. Computers often set their time from an Internet atomic clock source . Where this
1012-660: A similar signal at noon. Vancouver radio station CKNW also broadcasts time signals, using a chime every half-hour. Time signals on CBC broadcasts may be delayed up to 3 seconds due to network processing delays between the local radio transmitter and the time signal origin in Ottawa. The CBC's predecessor, the Canadian National Railways Radio network , broadcast the time signal over its Ottawa station , CNRO (originally CKCH), at 9 pm daily and also on its Moncton station, CNRA, beginning in 1923. CNRA closed in 1931 but
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#17328442449821104-626: A single 24-hour clock for the entire world. At a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute on 8 February 1879 he linked it to the anti-meridian of Greenwich (now 180°). He suggested that standard time zones could be used locally, but they were subordinate to his single world time. Standard time came into existence in the United States on 18 November 1883. Earlier, on 11 October 1883, the General Time Convention, forerunner to
1196-507: A source of time signals: The telegraphic distribution of time signals was made obsolete by the use of AM, FM, shortwave radio , Internet Network Time Protocol servers as well as atomic clocks in satellite navigation systems. Time signals have been transmitted by radio since 1905. There are dedicated radio time signal stations around the world. Time stations operating in the longwave radio band have highly predictable radio propagation characteristics, which gives low uncertainty in
1288-653: A total of over 600 halogen bulbs , 504 triangle-shaped crystal panels provided by Waterford, 96 strobe lights, and spinning, pyramid-shaped mirrors. The ball was constructed at Waterford's factory in Ireland , and was then shipped to New York City, where the lighting system and motorized mirrors were installed. Many of the panels were inscribed with "Hope"-themed designs changing yearly, which included "Star of Hope", "Hope for Abundance", "Hope for Healing", "Hope for Courage", "Hope for Unity", "Hope for Wisdom", "Hope for Fellowship", and "Hope for Peace". The 2002 theme "Hope for Healing"
1380-647: A tourist attraction in recent times. A cannon was fired at one o'clock every weekday at Liverpool , at the Castle in Edinburgh , and also at Perth to establish the time. The Edinburgh " One O'Clock Gun " is still in operation. A cannon located at the top of Santa Lucia Hill, in Santiago , is shot every noon. In Rome , on the Janiculum , a hill west of the Tiber since 1904 a cannon
1472-415: A visual signal, the dropping of a ball, to allow mariners to check the chronometers used for navigation. The advent of electrical telegraphs allowed widespread and precise distribution of time signals from central observatories. Railways were among the first customers for time signals, which allowed synchronization of their operations over wide geographic areas. Dedicated radio time signal stations transmit
1564-586: Is closed to traffic beginning in the late afternoon on New Year's Eve. The square is then divided into different viewing sections referred to as "pens", into which attendees are directed sequentially upon arrival. Security is strictly enforced by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), even more so since the 2001–02 edition in the wake of the September 11 attacks . Attendees are required to pass through security checkpoints before they are assigned
1656-549: Is fired daily at noon towards the river as a time signal. This was introduced in 1847 by Pope Pius IX to synchronise all the church bells of Rome. It was situated in Castel Sant'Angelo until 1903 when it was moved to Monte Mario for a few months until it was placed in its current position. The cannon was silenced from the start of WWII for about twenty years until 21 April 1959, the 2712th anniversary of Rome's founding, and has been in use since then. For many years an old cannon
1748-666: Is lit by 32,256 LED lamps. The new ball was designed to be weatherproof , as it would now be displayed atop One Times Square nearly year-round following the celebrations. The 2008 ball was placed on display at the Times Square Visitors Center. Yearly themes for the ball's crystal panels continued; from 2008 to 2013, the ball contained crystal patterns that were part of a Waterford series known as "World of Celebration", which included "Let There Be Light", "Let There Be Joy", "Let There Be Courage", "Let There Be Love", "Let There Be Friendship", and "Let There Be Peace". In 2014, all
1840-411: Is not available, a locally connected GNSS receiver can precisely set the time using one of several software applications. One sort of public time signal is a striking clock . These clocks are only as good as the clockwork that activates them, but they have improved substantially since the first clocks from the 14th century. Until modern times, a public clock such as Big Ben was the only time standard
1932-506: Is produced and distributed in a similar manner), though unlike program content which is on a broadcast delay for content concerns, the time signal airs as-is over-the-air, meaning it can sometimes be talked over during a live news event or sports play-by-play. KYW-AM in Philadelphia broadcasts a time signal at the top of the hour along with its jingle . Bonneville International -owned news/talk station KSL (AM-FM) in Salt Lake City uses
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#17328442449822024-522: Is still shot every night at 9 pm. (This gun was brought to Stanley Park in 1894 by the Department of Fisheries originally to warn fishermen of the 6:00 pm Sunday closing of fishing.) The 9:00 pm firing was later established as a time signal for the general population. Until a time gun was installed, the nearby Brockton Point lighthouse keeper detonated a stick of dynamite. Elsewhere in Canada,
2116-622: The American Railway Association , approved a plan that divided the United States into several time zones . On that November day, the US Naval Observatory telegraphed a signal that coordinated noon at Eastern standard time with 11 am Central, 10 am Mountain, and 9 am Pacific standard time. A March 1905 issue of The Technical World describes the role of the United States Naval Observatory as
2208-560: The CBS Radio Network , of which WCBS is the flagship, air a "bong" (at a frequency of 440 Hz – the international standard for the musical note A ) that immediately precedes each top-of-the-hour network newscast. (The same bong could be heard on the CBS Television Network, at the top of the hour immediately before the beginning of any televised program, in the 1960s and 1970s.) An automated "chirp" at one second before
2300-780: The Greenwich Observatory in London by the Astronomer Royal , John Pond , originally to enable tall ships in the Thames to set their marine chronometers, and the time ball has dropped at 1 p.m. every day since then. Wauchope submitted his scheme to American and French ambassadors when they visited England. The United States Naval Observatory was established in Washington, D.C., and the first American time ball went into service in 1845. Time balls were usually dropped at 1 p.m. (although in
2392-943: The Miley Cyrus -helmed Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party , from Miami. From 1956 to 1976, CBS televised Guy Lombardo 's annual New Year's Eve concert with his big band The Royal Canadians, most frequently from the Waldorf-Astoria 's ballroom. It featured coverage from Times Square, and the band's signature rendition of " Auld Lang Syne " at midnight. After Lombardo's death in 1977, the special continued with Guy's younger brother Victor Lombardo as host and bandleader, but increasing competition from New Year’s Rockin’ Eve prompted CBS to replace it for 1979–80 with Happy New Year, America . The new special ran in various formats with different hosts (such as Paul Anka , Donny Osmond , Andy Williams , Late Show with David Letterman bandleader Paul Shaffer , and talk show host Montel Williams ) until it
2484-590: The Nelson Monument, Edinburgh ; the sailors' home Broomielaw , Glasgow; Liverpool and one at Deal, Kent , installed by the Admiralty . Telegraph signals were used regularly for time coordination by the United States Naval Observatory starting in 1865. By the late 1800s, many U.S. observatories were selling accurate time by offering a regional time signal service. Sandford Fleming proposed
2576-481: The Times moved its corporate headquarters to 229 West 43rd Street . The Times still maintained ownership of the tower, however, and Strauss continued to organize future editions of the drop. The original ball was replaced with a new design after the 1919–20 event; it shared the physical dimensions with the first ball, but was now constructed solely from iron—decreasing its weight to 400 pounds (180 kg). The ball drop
2668-430: The presidential nominating conventions . It is thrown by a team of 100 volunteers (referred to internally by Heining as "confetti dispersal engineers") lining the rooftops of eight Times Square buildings. Treb developed the event's signature "blizzard" effect, using larger confetti pieces better-suited to the outdoor environment. Some of the pieces are inscribed with messages of hope for the new year, which are collected via
2760-431: The 1990-91 event to salute the troops of Operation Desert Shield . The third ball was updated again for the 1995–96 event, adding a computerized lighting system with 180 halogen bulbs and 144 strobe lights , and over 12,000 rhinestones . Lighting designer Barry Arnold explained that "something had to be done to make this event more spectacular as we approach the millennium." The drop itself became computerized through
2852-473: The 2023–24 event, construction was suspended in December 2023 to allow for preparations to begin (including the temporary removal of a crane ), and staff wore personal protective equipment while on the roof For 2024, Fontainebleau Resorts served as a sponsor, promoting the 70th anniversary of its namesake hotel in Miami Beach, and its newly-opened Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort; the lighting patterns on
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2944-480: The Key to NYC Pass public health order) and wear a face mask. If covered by a specific exemption, attendees were alternatively allowed to present proof of a recent negative PCR test from within the past 72 hours. Although Mayor Bill de Blasio originally announced plans for the event to otherwise be held as normal with no restrictions on capacity, the official maximum capacity was ultimately reduced to 15,000 people instead of
3036-468: The New York City-based firm Focus Lighting . Organizers stated that the new ball was also more energy-efficient, and consumed an equivalent amount of electricity to 10 toasters . For 2009, a larger version of the fifth ball was introduced; it is an icosahedral geodesic sphere with a diameter of 12 feet (3.7 m), and weight of 11,875 pounds (5,386 kg). It contains 2,688 panels, and
3128-657: The Times Square Alliance. The first New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square was held on December 31, 1904; The New York Times ' owner, Adolph Ochs , decided to celebrate the opening of the newspaper's new headquarters, One Times Square , with a New Year's fireworks show on the southern roof of the building to welcome 1905. Close to 200,000 people attended the event, displacing traditional celebrations that had normally been held at Trinity Church . However, following several years of fireworks shows, Ochs wanted
3220-487: The United States they were dropped at noon). They were raised half way about 5 minutes earlier to alert the ships, then with 2–3 minutes to go they were raised the whole way. The time was recorded when the ball began descending, not when it reached the bottom. With the commencement of radio time signals (in Britain from 1924), time balls gradually became obsolete and many were demolished in the 1920s. A contemporary version of
3312-554: The authorities until a permanent time ball was mounted on the Ferry Building in August 1901. Time signal A time signal is a visible, audible, mechanical, or electronic signal used as a reference to determine the time of day . Church bells or voices announcing hours of prayer gave way to automatically operated chimes on public clocks ; however, audible signals (even signal guns) have limited range. Busy seaports used
3404-410: The average temperature in nearby Central Park during the ball drop has been 34 °F (1 °C). The warmest ball drops occurred in 1965–66 and 1972–73 when the temperature was 58 °F (14 °C). The coldest ball drop occurred in 1917–18, when the temperature was 1 °F (−17 °C) and the wind chill was −18 °F (−28 °C). Affected by a continent-wide cold wave , the 2017–18 drop
3496-492: The ball drop and its associated festivities has been produced, streamed via Livestream.com . Since 2022-23, the webcast has been hosted by actors, Jonathan Bennett , Jeremy Hassel, and Jaymes Vaughan. The event is covered as part of New Year's Eve television specials on several major U.S. television networks, which usually intersperse on-location coverage from Times Square with entertainment segments, such as musical performances (some of which held live in Times Square as part of
3588-563: The ball featured bow tie motifs, alluding to the use of bow ties as a logo and visual motif at the two resorts, and the bow tie shape of Times Square itself. That year's "Imagine" performer, Paul Anka , had also been known for his performances in Las Vegas. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , the 2020–21 festivities were closed to the general public. Attendance was largely limited to
3680-456: The ball itself was designed by Artkraft Strauss . First held on December 31, 1907, to welcome 1908, the ball drop has been held annually since, except in 1942 and 1943 in observance of wartime blackouts . The ball's design has been updated four times to reflect improvements in lighting technology; the original ball was 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter, constructed from wood and iron, and illuminated with 100 incandescent light bulbs . By contrast,
3772-418: The ball's panels were replaced, marking a new theme series known as "Greatest Gifts", beginning with "Gift of Imagination". For a period during the 2010s, as part of the sponsorship of One Times Square's top-most billboard by Japanese electronics firm Toshiba , a daytime countdown and ball drop was held as a media event at 10:00 a.m. ET to mark midnight Japan Standard Time (JST). The event—held hours prior to
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3864-674: The beginning of the hour. In New York, WCBS and WINS have distinctive beginning-of-the-hour tones, though the WINS signal is only approximate (several seconds error). WINS also has a tone at 30 minutes past the hour for those setting their clocks. WTIC uses the Morse code V for victory to the tune of Beethoven's 5th Symphony at the beginning of the hour continuously, since 1943. Broadcast stations using iBiquity Digital's " HD Radio " system are contractually required to delay their analog broadcast by about eight seconds, so it remains in sync with
3956-554: The broadcast featured coverage of New Year's festivities from around the world as part of an international consortium . Dick Clark would join Jennings to co-anchor coverage from Times Square. MTV had broadcast coverage originating from the network's Times Square studios at One Astor Plaza , which was initially hosted by Carson Daly until his departure to NBC. For 2011, MTV also held its own ball drop in Seaside Heights, New Jersey ,
4048-624: The broadcasts continued on CNRO when the station was acquired by the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission in 1933 and by the CBC in 1936 before going national in 1939. In Australia, many information-based radio stations broadcast time signals at the beginning of the hour, and a speaking clock service was also available until October 2019. However, the VNG dedicated time signal service has been discontinued. In Cuba, Radio Reloj
4140-490: The city for year 2000 celebrations. A full day of festivities was held at Times Square to celebrate the arrival of the year 2000, which included concerts and hourly cultural presentations with parades of puppets designed by Michael Curry , representing countries entering the new year at that hour. Organizers expected a total attendance exceeding two million spectators. The fourth ball, measuring 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter and weighing 1,070 pounds (490 kg), incorporated
4232-570: The closedown of Times Square for the ball drop proper—was used to appeal to New York City's Japanese community , usually attended by members of Japanese media outlets, and included appearances by representatives in traditional Japanese clothing . The numerical sign indicating the year (which remains atop the tower along with the ball itself) uses Philips LED lamps. The "14" digits for 2014 used Philips Hue multi-color LED lamps, allowing them to have computerized lighting cues. A major renovation of One Times Square by Jamestown began in 2022, including
4324-588: The concept has been used since 31 December 1907 at New York City 's Times Square as part of its New Year's Eve celebrations; at 11:59 p.m., a lit ball is lowered down a pole on the roof of One Times Square over the course of the sixty seconds ending at midnight. The spectacle was inspired by an organizer having seen the time ball on the Western Union Building in operation. Over sixty time balls remain standing, though many are no longer operational. Existing time balls include: Clearly seen from
4416-551: The conclusion of the festivities and the dispersal of attendees, cleanup is performed overnight to remove confetti and other debris from Times Square. When it is re-opened to the public the following morning, few traces of the previous night's celebration remain: following the 2013–14 drop, the New York City Department of Sanitation estimated that it had cleared over 50 short tons (45 t) of refuse from Times Square in eight hours, using 190 workers from their own crews and
4508-417: The construction of a new observation deck, and the conversion of the tower's otherwise-disused floors into a Times Square museum and exhibition space. As part of the new attractions, the ball is expected to be lowered multiple times per-day, year-round. The ball drop itself has not been disrupted by the ongoing construction, although the numerical sign was briefly removed in 2023 due to part of the work. Ahead of
4600-418: The crowd in a floss dance (a routine made popular by Fortnite ). 40°45′23″N 73°59′11″W / 40.7564°N 73.9865°W / 40.7564; -73.9865 Time ball A time ball or timeball is a time-signalling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators aboard ships offshore to verify
4692-469: The current ball is 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter, and uses over 32,000 LED lamps . Since 1999–2000, the ball has featured an outer surface consisting of triangular panels manufactured by Waterford Crystal , which contain inscriptions representing a yearly theme. The event is organized by the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, a company led by Jeff Strauss. Since 2009, the ball has been displayed atop One Times Square nearly year-round, while
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#17328442449824784-626: The delays are often more than 100 ms, due to the multiple access methods used to share cell channels. In rare instances when the telephone connection is made by satellite, the time is delayed by 250–500 ms. The audio from the broadcasts is available by telephone by dialling U.S. numbers (303) 499-7111 for WWV (Colorado), and (808) 335-4363 for WWVH (Hawaii). Calls (which are not toll-free) are disconnected after 2 minutes. Loran-C time signals formerly were also used for radio clock synchronization, by augmenting their highly accurate frequency transmissions with external measurements of
4876-553: The digital stream. Thus, network-generated time signals and service cues will also be delayed by about eight seconds. (Because of the delay, when WBEN-AM in Buffalo, New York was broadcasting time markers, and was simulcast on an FM station that broadcast in HD; the FM signal did not carry the time signal. WBEN does not broadcast in HD.) Local signals may also be delayed. The all-news radio stations of
4968-416: The drop has been ceremonially "activated" on-stage by one or more special guests, accompanied by the current mayor of New York City , by pressing a button on a smaller model of the ball. The guests are selected annually to recognize their community involvement or significance, and have included: The conclusion of the drop is followed by fireworks shot from the roof of One Times Square, backed by music such as
5060-467: The drop has never had any technical issues since. After its 44th use in 1999, the third ball was retired and placed on display at the Atlanta headquarters of Jamestown Group, owners of One Times Square. On December 28, 1998, during a press conference attended by New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani , organizers announced that the third ball would be retired for the arrival of the new millennium, and replaced by
5152-538: The earliest being the 1918–19 event, and the most recent being the 2022–23 event. The records for most precipitation and snow for the whole day on New Year’s Eve were both set in 1948, when 1.40 inches (36 mm) of precipitation and 4.0 inches (10 cm) of snow fell. As a public event, the festivities and ball drop are often broadcast on television. Since the mid-1990s, a host pool feed has been provided to broadcasters for use in coverage, which for 2016–17 consisted of 21 cameras. Since 2009–10, an official webcast of
5244-529: The electric telegraph around 1850, time balls could be located at a distance from their source of mean time and operated remotely. The first modern time ball was erected at Portsmouth , England, in 1829 by its inventor Robert Wauchope , a captain in the Royal Navy . Others followed in the major ports of the United Kingdom (including Liverpool ) and around the maritime world. One was installed in 1833 at
5336-633: The event's corporate sponsors. The lead-up to midnight features a program of entertainment, including musical performances: some of these performances are organized by, and aired by New Year's Eve television specials broadcasting from Times Square. The climax of the festivities is the drop itself, which begins at 11:59:00 p.m. ET. Officially, the drop is activated using a button inside a special control room within One Times Square, synchronized using an National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) time signal received via satellite. Since 1996,
5428-439: The event). By far the most notable of these is Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ; created, produced, and originally hosted by the entertainer Dick Clark until his death in 2012 (with Regis Philbin filling in for its 2004–05 broadcast), and currently hosted by Ryan Seacrest , the program first aired on NBC in 1972 before moving to ABC , where it has been broadcast ever since. New Year's Rockin' Eve has consistently been
5520-419: The festivities, known as New Year's Eve Live , currently hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen (the latter first replacing Kathy Griffin for 2018). Fox News carries All-American New Year , which was most recently hosted by the panel of Fox & Friends Weekend . Beginning in the 1940s, NBC broadcast coverage from Times Square anchored by Ben Grauer on both radio and television. Its coverage
5612-425: The first verse of " Auld Lang Syne " as performed by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians , and " Theme from New York, New York " as performed by Frank Sinatra , among others. At least 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of confetti is dropped in Times Square at midnight, overseen since 1991 by Treb Heining—a professional balloon artist who has also directed confetti and balloon drops at other major U.S. events such as
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#17328442449825704-404: The general public needed. Accurate knowledge of time of day is essential for navigation , and ships carried the most accurate marine chronometers available, although they did not keep perfect time. A number of accurate audible or visible time signals were established in many seaport cities to enable navigators to set their chronometers. In Vancouver , British Columbia , a " 9 O'Clock Gun "
5796-548: The hour signals a switch to the radio network broadcast. As an example, KNX , the CBS Radio Network all-news station in Los Angeles, broadcasts this "bong" sound on the hour. However, due to buffering of the digital broadcast on some computers, this signal may be delayed as much as 20 seconds from the actual start of the hour (this is presumably the same situation for all CBS Radio stations, as each station's digital stream
5888-542: The location of elevated shooters. For 2018–19, the NYPD announced its intent to use a camera-equipped quadcopter to augment the over 1,200 fixed cameras monitoring Times Square, but it was left grounded due to inclement weather. Festivities formally begin in the early evening, with an opening ceremony featuring the raising of the ball at 6:00 p.m. ET . Party favours are distributed to attendees, which have historically included large balloons, hats, and other items branded with
5980-841: The most-watched New Year's Eve special in the U.S. annually, peaking at 25.6 million viewers for its 2017–18 edition. Following the death of Dick Clark in April 2012, a crystal engraved with his name was added to the 2013 ball in tribute. As of 2022–23, with Fox having quietly discontinued New Year's specials, and NBC having moved theirs from Times Square to Miami in 2021, CBS is the only other major English-language broadcast network to also provide coverage from Times Square, having added segments co-hosted by WCBS-TV chief meteorologist Lonnie Quinn to New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash beginning that year. Spanish-language network Univision broadcasts ¡Feliz! , hosted by Raúl de Molina of El Gordo y La Flaca . On cable , CNN carries coverage of
6072-413: The new year. In recent years, the ball drop has been preceded by live entertainment, including performances by musicians. Over 1,000,000 people from around the world attend. The event was first organized by Adolph Ochs , owner of The New York Times , as a successor to a series of New Year's Eve fireworks displays he held at the building to promote its status as the new headquarters of the Times , while
6164-405: The number of seconds required for the report of the time gun to reach various locations in the city. Because light travels much faster than sound , visible signals enabled greater precision than audible ones, although audible signals could operate better under conditions of reduced visibility. The first time ball was erected at Portsmouth , England in 1829 by its inventor Robert Wauchope . One
6256-438: The offsets of LORAN navigation signals against time standards. As radio receivers became more widely available, broadcasters included time information in the form of voice announcements or automated tones to accurately indicate the hour. The BBC has included time " pips " in its broadcasts from 1922. In the United States many information-based radio stations (full-service, all-news and news/talk) also broadcast time signals at
6348-408: The original, smaller version of the current ball that was used in 2008 has been on display inside the Times Square visitor center. The prevalence of the Times Square ball drop has inspired similar "drops" at other local New Year's Eve events across the country; while some use balls, some instead drop objects that represent local culture or history. To facilitate the arrival of attendees, Times Square
6440-511: The permanent collection of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum . To mark the 100th anniversary of the first ball drop, a new fifth design debuted for the 2007–08 event. Once again manufactured by Waterford Crystal with a diameter of 6 feet (1.8 m), and weighing 1,212 pounds (550 kg), it used 9,576 LED lamps provided by Philips (which can produce 16,777,216 or 2 colors), with computerized lighting patterns developed by
6532-435: The press, performers, and the invited families of first responders and other essential workers from the New York City area (billed as "The Heroes of 2020"). In accordance with New York state health orders, face masks were mandatory, and households were placed within 8 foot (2.4 m) "pens" with social distancing . There was an estimated 80% reduction in NYPD presence at the event in comparison to past years. The VNYE app
6624-464: The reboot of Total Request Live . For 2019, prominent video game streamer Ninja hosted a 12-hour New Year's Eve stream on Twitch from Times Square, featuring matches of Fortnite Battle Royale with himself and special guests from a studio in the Paramount Building . Ninja made an on-stage appearance in Times Square during the festivities outside, which included a failed attempt to lead
6716-458: The received time signals. Stations operating in the shortwave band can cover wider areas with relatively low-power transmitters, but the varying distance that the signal travels increases the uncertainty of the time signal on a scale of milliseconds. Radio time signal stations broadcast the time in both audible and machine-readable time code form that can be used as references for radio clocks and radio-controlled watches . Typically, they use
6808-682: The river and aligned on the meridian for observation purposes, Building 20, also known as the Ball House, is the former observatory and time ball tower. In March 1864 New Zealand's first time ball was established at Wellington. This was followed by Port Chalmers in June 1867, Wanganui in October 1874, Lyttelton in December 1876 and Timaru in 1888. Attempts were made by some people in Auckland to establish time balls there from 1864 onwards, but these were not recognized by
6900-399: The setting of its popular reality series Jersey Shore , featuring cast member Snooki lowered inside a giant " hamster ball ". Originally, MTV planned to hold the drop within its studio in Times Square, but the network was asked by city officials to conduct the drop elsewhere. On October 2, 2017, the ball was "raised" by DJ Khaled , alongside its hosts, D.C. Young Fly and Tamara Dhia, for
6992-416: The setting of their marine chronometers . Accurate timekeeping is essential to the determination of longitude at sea. Although time balls have since been replaced by electronic time signals , some time balls have remained operational as historical tourist attractions . The fall of a little ball was in antiquity a way to show to people the time. Ancient Greek clocks had this system in the main square of
7084-546: The tradition of a factory whistle becomes so deeply entrenched in a community that the whistle is maintained long after its original function as a time keeper became obsolete. For example, the University of Iowa 's power plant whistle has been reinstated several times by popular demand after numerous attempts to silence it. In 1861 and 1862, the Edinburgh Post Office Directory published time gun maps relating
7176-475: The use of an electric winch synchronized with the National Institute of Standards and Technology 's time signal ; the first drop with the new system was not without issues, however, as a glitch caused the ball to pause for a short moment halfway through its descent. The following year, John Trowbridge was hired as the drop's new technical director; in 2021, Jeff Strauss told The Wall Street Journal that
7268-463: The usual 58,000 due to concerns regarding Omicron variant . Due to a COVID-19 infection, Trowbridge did not operate the ball drop in-person, but instead directed the event quarantined at a hotel in New Jersey. The Fox network also canceled its planned New Year's Eve special from Times Square, citing concerns relating to Omicron variant. According to National Weather Service records, since 1907–08,
7360-595: The world, was initiated in 1852 by the Electric Telegraph Company in collaboration with the Astronomer Royal . Greenwich Mean Time was distributed by telegraph from the Greenwich Observatory . This included a system for synchronising the drop of the time ball at Greenwich with other time balls around the country, one of which was atop the Electric's offices in the Strand . Other synchronised time balls were atop
7452-512: The “ I Love New York ” marketing campaign. For the 1987–88 event, organizers acknowledged the addition of a leap second earlier that day (leap seconds are appended at midnight UTC , which is five hours before midnight in New York) by extending the drop to 61 seconds, and including a special one-second light show at 12:00:01 a.m.. The original white bulbs returned to the ball for the 1988–89 event, but were replaced by red, white, and blue bulbs for
7544-521: Was discontinued after 1996. Besides coverage during a special episode of Late Show for 1999, and America's Millennium for 2000, CBS would not air any national New Year's Eve specials again until 2021–22, when it first aired New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash . Beginning in 1991, Fox occasionally broadcast its New Year's specials from Times Square, with its most recent formats doing so having included New Year's Eve with Steve Harvey from 2017 to 2019, and New Year's Eve Toast & Roast , which
7636-460: Was fired "about noon" from a mountain near Kabul . In many Midwestern US cities where tornadoes are a common hazard, the emergency sirens are tested regularly at a specified time (say, noon each Saturday); while not primarily intended to mark the time, local people often check their watches when they hear this signal. In many non-seafaring communities, loud factory whistles served as public time signals before radio made them obsolete. Sometimes,
7728-450: Was hoisted on the building's 70 foot flagpole with rope by a team of six men. The ball would begin to drop at 10 seconds before midnight. Once it hit the roof, the ball completed a circuit that lit 5-foot-tall signs on the sides of the building to signal the new year, and triggered a fireworks show. The first ever "ball drop" was held on December 31, 1907, welcoming the year 1908. In 1913, only eight years after it moved to One Times Square,
7820-503: Was hosted by Ken Jeong and Joel McHale from Los Angeles with Kelly Osbourne reporting from Times Square. Fox intended for the special to return for 2021–22, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns in New York City. The following year, Fox forewent any New Year's Eve programming on the main network. For 2000, in lieu of New Year's Rockin' Eve , ABC News covered the festivities as part of its day-long telecast, ABC 2000 Today . Hosted by then-chief correspondent Peter Jennings ,
7912-498: Was in commemoration of the September 11 terrorist attacks , which had occurred three and a half months earlier. 195 of the ball's panels were engraved with the names of countries and emergency organizations that had taken casualties during the attacks, and the names of the World Trade Center , The Pentagon , and the four flights that were involved in the attacks. In December 2011, the "Hope for Healing" panels were accepted into
8004-531: Was installed in 1833 on the roof of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich , London, and the time ball has dropped at 1:00 pm every day since then. The first American time ball went into service in 1845. In New York City, the ceremonial Times Square Ball drop on New Year's Eve in Times Square is a vestige of a visual time signal. The first telegraph distribution of time signal in the United Kingdom, indeed, in
8096-404: Was later incorporated into special episodes of The Tonight Show , continuing through Johnny Carson and Jay Leno 's tenures on the program. NBC would later introduce a dedicated special, New Year's Eve with Carson Daly (later renamed NBC's New Year's Eve ), hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly , which first began midnight coverage in 2006, and was discontinued in 2022 in favor of
8188-452: Was not until 1979 that it became an established practice for the crowd in Times Square to count down the final seconds during the event—a practice that only became common in general on New Year's Eve television specials in the 1960s. For the 1981–82 event, the ball was modified to make it resemble an apple with red bulbs and a green "stem", alluding to New York's nickname, " the Big Apple " for
8280-466: Was placed on hiatus for New Year's Eve 1942–43 and 1943–44 due to wartime lighting restrictions during World War II . Instead, a moment of silence was observed one minute before midnight in Times Square, followed by the sound of church bells being played from sound trucks . The second ball was last used for the 1954-55 event in favor of a third design; which was now 6 feet in diameter, constructed from aluminum, and weighed 150 pounds (68 kg). It
8372-485: Was released as a digital companion to the event, featuring augmented reality camera filters and a digital recreation of Times Square as a virtual world where users could play minigames, view live streams of New Year's festivities in New York City and elsewhere, and witness a virtual version of the ball drop. The event was reopened to the public for 2021–22, but all attendees over the age of 5 were required to present proof of vaccination for COVID-19 (in accordance with
8464-438: Was the second-coldest on record, at 9 °F (−13 °C) and −4 °F (−20 °C) after wind chill. The third coldest ball drop occurred during the 1962–63 event, when the temperature was 11 °F (−12 °C) and the wind chill was −17 °F (−27 °C). Snow has fallen seven times, with the earliest being the 1926–27 event, and the most recent being the 2009–10 event, and rain/drizzle has fallen seventeen times, with
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