New Yorkers are celebrating the new year with one million individuals who gathered in Times Square, despite the rain, to witness the famous ball drop.
Festivities were well and truly underway on Tuesday hours ahead of the midnight fireworks extravaganza.
The renowned New Year’s Eve ball will make its last drop tonight before being retired to the museum at the newly renovated One Times Square.
At midnight, 3,000 pounds of confetti will shower down on the crowd, carrying messages of hope, love, good health, and peace for the upcoming year.
Additional security measures were put in place across the city to reassure tourists and locals that it was safe to attend celebrations.
Specialized units are manning rooftops and hotels while bomb-sniffing dogs roam around and helicopter and drone teams monitor from the skies.
Designated pick-pocketing teams are also patrolling the area around Times Square, doubly helping with crowd control.
New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said New Yorkers can rest easy knowing there are no specific threats or concerns relating to this evening’s event, although the department has been operating in a ‘heightened threat environment’ since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, 2023.
In all, 3,000 pounds of confetti with rain down on revelers as the clock strikes midnight with messages of hope, love, good health and peace for the year ahead
The Jonas Brothers (Nick, Joe and Kevin) took to the stage on Tuesday night to perform
New Yorkers are ringing in the new year alongside one million people who braved the rain to pack into Times Square and watch the iconic ball drop
People from around the world travelled to party together in the iconic street-venue, waiting patiently in drizzle as they prepared for a long night of entertainment on their feet
Revelers were seen crowded among the barricades donning their New Year’s best including sparkly hats and waterproof ponchos.
As the crowd gathers at Times Square, watchers-on are warned they cannot pack their umbrellas despite rain in the forecast.
AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Duff said crowds should expect to be drenched if they are out in the elements.
‘The rain will be heavy at times, and people standing in Times Square will get soaked during the evening.’
People from around the world traveled to party together in the iconic street-venue, waiting patiently in drizzle as they prepared for a long night of entertainment on their feet.
Revelers were seen crowded among the barricades donning their New Year’s best including tall hats and waterproof ponchos.
ABC’s ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ lineup features live performances from Rita Ora, the Jonas Brothers, Megan Moroney, Mark Ambor, TLC, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Carrie Underwood.
Ellis-Bexter was criticized for a ‘breathless’ performance. The Murder on the Dancefloor hitmaker enjoyed renewed popularity this year after the song featured in an infamous scene at the end of Saltburn, starring Barry Keoghan.
But before the clock strikes 12, New York will celebrate its 400th birthday.
The Times Square tradition with the ball drop began in 1907, and is a must-do bucket list item for people all around the world, who fly in in droves for the spectacle.
The event will attract about a million people to ring in 2025, with more than a billion watching on at home.
The Jonas Brothers performed to revelers just hours before midnight
Revelers backed into Times Square to ring in the New Year
ABC’s ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ lineup features live performances from Rita Ora, the Jonas Brothers, Megan Moroney, Mark Ambor, TLC, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Carrie Underwood
Additional security measures were put in place across the city to reassure tourists and locals that it was safe to attend celebrations.
The event will attract about a million people to ring in 2025, with more than a billion watching on at home
But before the clock strikes 12, New York will celebrate its 400th birthday
The ball drop marks the end of 2024; a year of highs and lows around the world.
2024 saw the Paris Olympics unite the world in July and August.
Athletes swam in the Seine, raced in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower, and rode horses across the manicured lawns outside the Palace of Versailles.
Taylor Swift brought the curtain down on her Eras tour this year, pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral, and two atronauts were sent to space on Boeing’s Starliner – where they remain due to technical problems.
It was a global year of elections, with countless millions going to the polls across more than 60 countries.
Vladimir Putin prevailed in a Russian ballot widely dismissed as a sham, while a student uprising in Bangladesh toppled the reigning prime minister.
However, no vote was as closely watched as the November 5 contest that will soon see Donald Trump back in the White House.
Around the world, nations have already had their fireworks displays and celebrated the new year.
SYDNEY: Fireworks light up the midnight sky over Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during 2025 New Year’s Day celebrations in Sydney on January 1, 2025
PARIS: Fireworks illuminate the sky around the L’Arc de Triomphe on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris early January 1, 2025
HONG KONG: Fireworks light up the midnight sky over Victoria Harbour during 2025 New Year’s Day celebrations in Hong Kong on January 1, 2025
More than one million people packed the area around Sydney Harbour to watch around nine tonnes of fireworks be blasted from the famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Celebrations were more muted in South Korea after the country was rocked in recent days by political turmoil and the Jeju Air plane tragedy, with a moment of silence held for the 179 victims.
With Seoul’s famous Lotte Tower countdown called off and parties cancelled, the new year milestone was marked by somber crowds who watched as the traditional Bosingak bell was rung, without the performances that usually accompany it.
In Japan, crowds gathered at Tokyo’s Tokudai-ji to offer their prayers for the new year and take part in the yearly bell-tolling to mark the start of the new year.
The first place to ring in the new year was Christmas Island, officially known as Kiritimati, which is home to more than 7,000 people and is the farthest forward timezone in the world.
The island, which is part of the small nation of Kiribati, was followed by Tonga, Somoa and New Zealand’s Chatham Islands soon after.
Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between the leaders who face tensions with the West.
TOKYO: Projections light up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building to bring in the new year
DUBAI: Fireworks explode over the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, during the New Year’s celebration in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 1, 2025
EGYPT: Fireworks spark over the historical site of Giza Pyramids just outside Cairo
Xi told Putin their countries will ‘always move forward hand in hand,’ the official Xinhua News Agency said.
China celebrated with an incredible drone show featuring a dragon twisting and turning through the night sky.
In India, thousands of revelers in the financial hub of Mumbai flocked to the city’s bustling promenade facing the Arabian Sea. In Sri Lanka, people gathered at Buddhist temples to light oil lamps and incense sticks and pray.
In Dubai, thousands are were attending a fireworks show at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper. And in Nairobi, Kenya, scattered fireworks were heard as midnight approached.
