For the first time ever, New York’s venerable New Year’s Eve ball drop, a Times Square spectacle every year since 1907, will happen twice in a single year.
The Constellation Ball, the ninth and largest version of the New Year’s Eve sphere, will be lighted and sent up its 139-foot pole atop the One Times Square building on Tuesday, Dec. 30.
Watch the test: How the ball drop fared.
Learn more: Quirky New Year’s Eve drop traditions.
At 11:59 p.m. ET, the 12½-foot, 12,350-pound ball will make its 60-second descent to usher in the new year. But that’s not all.
At 12:04 a.m., the ball will be relighted in the red, white and blue design of “America250,″ a nonpartisan commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. On July Fourth, it will drop to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
It’s the first time the ball will drop twice in one year.
Where is the Constellation Ball?
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“America250 will kick off the semiquincentennial year on New Year’s Eve in Times Square – the most watched celebration on the planet – signaling that the largest and most inspiring celebration and commemoration in our nation’s history is underway in 2026,” Rosie Rios, chair of America250, said in a statement.
How the New Year’s Eve ball works
How has the Times Square ball evolved?
The balls have been redesigned periodically to incorporate new technology. Starting in 2009, a ball has been permanently installed year-round on top of One Times Square. It serves as a landmark and tourist attraction in Manhattan.
When did the New Year’s Eve tradition start?
Times Square has celebrated New Year’s for 122 years, starting in 1904 with a fireworks display by the owners of The New York Times in the newspaper’s new headquarters.
When fireworks were restricted, organizers used lighted spheres for New Year’s celebrations in Times Square. They were based on what are called chronographic spheres, or time balls, used by mariners in the 1800s to set ship clocks and navigation instruments.
The Times Square ball will be lit twice this year, but it was left dark twice during World War II. It was not lighted or dropped for New Year’s Eve in 1942 and 1943 because of wartime blackout restrictions.
CONTRIBUTING Saman Shafig and Amaris Encinas
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; america250.org; timessquareball.net
