New Year's Eve in Time Square

[Serena]

Hope you don't mind, Amos.

Times Square 2004 New Year’s Eve Celebration
New York City
December 31, 2003

Times Square 2004 will be a spectacular event, full of sights, sounds and special effects, featuring the New Year’s Eve Ball, designed by Waterford Crystal, that descends the flagpole atop One Times Square at midnight. Although the first Times Square New Year's Eve celebration was held in 1904, since 1907 -- the year of the first Ball Lowering celebration -- the tradition of the Ball Lowering in Times Square has become a universal symbol of welcoming the New Year.

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Hundreds of thousands joined us in ringing in the New Year at the Crossroads of the World!

IMPORTANT FACTS

The Building
The Ball Lowering is held atop One Times Square, formerly The New York Times building that was constructed in 1904. The New Year's Eve Ball is owned by One Times Square, and the New Year's festivities are produced and promoted by the Times Square BID and Countdown Entertainment. The Building is located at the southern end of the "BowTie" of Times Square between 42nd and 43rd Streets on Broadway/Seventh Avenue.

Cleanup
More than 50 Times Square BID sanitation workers, along with the New York City Department of Sanitation crews, will clean Times Square through the night, removing confetti and debris, to return the area to its usual tidiness.

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Aftermath

[Serena]

EVENT FACT SHEET & SCHEDULE
FOR TIMES SQUARE 2004,
NEW YEAR'S EVE IN TIMES SQUARE

For 99 years, Times Square has been the center of worldwide attention on New Year's Eve, ever since the owners of One Times Square began in 1904 to conduct rooftop celebrations to usher in the New Year. The first Ball Lowering celebration occurred in 1907, and this tradition is now a universal symbol of welcoming the New Year.

THE EVENT

5:00 p.m.
The Revelers
Revelers start arriving late in the afternoon on New Year's Eve. By approximately 5:00 p.m., the Bow Tie of Times Square (42nd to 47th Sts. between Broadway & 7th Ave.) is fully closed to traffic. Revelers are directed by the NYPD to gather in separate viewing sections. As one section fills up, the revelers are directed by police to the next viewing section. As the evening progresses, revelers continue to fill the Times Square neighborhood along Broadway and Seventh Avenue moving uptown from 43rd St. to as far as Central Park.

6:02 p.m.
Raising and Lighting the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball
The celebration begins with Korbel Champagne lighting and raising the New Year’s Eve Ball atop One Times Square accompanied by music, sound effects and a brief pyrotechnic display as the Ball reaches the top of the flagpole.

6:05 p.m.
Music Soundtrack Begins
The revelers now gathered in Times Square in anticipation of the New Year are entertained by cheerful and fun background music. The music is heard through a wireless surround sound system specially engineered for the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration.

6:59 p.m.
Hourly Video Countdown Begins
As we approach the New Year, a thirty second video countdown on giant Panasonic Astrovision screens accompanied by special sound effects will mark the end of each hour.

8:00 p.m.
Pom-poms, Balloons, Hats, Glasses, Flags and Confetti Bags:
The Times Square BID sanitation crews clad in bright red uniforms begin to distribute many thousands of fun handouts to the assembled revelers for cheering in the New Year. Discover Card provides glittering multi-color mylar pom-poms, large orange New Year’s Eve hats, and the “Official Times Square 2004 Confetti Bags” which revelers can fill with souvenir confetti. Korbel Champagne provides bright red balloons tied with gold mylar ribbons, and Panasonic provides the “Official Times Square 2004 New Year’s Eve Eyeglasses.”

11:15 p.m.
Panasonic’s Times Square Sing-Along:
Cyndi Lauper performs and leads the annual Panasonic Sing-Along with three songs from her hit new album At Last. Cyndi begins by entertaining the revelers in Times Square with her soulful performance of At Last, and then invites the revelers to join in singing her amazing renditions of Until You Come Back To Me and Stay. As the words appear on giant Panasonic Astrovision screens, the revelers will sing with Cyndi.

11:59 p.m.
The Sixty-Second Countdown:
The Times Square 2004 Special Guest, Shoshana Johnson, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg push the Waterford crystal button that signals the descent of the New Year’s Eve Ball, and lead the final sixty-second countdown to the New Year atop the Countdown Stage located at Duffy Square, the center island on Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets.

The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball:
The lighted Ball descends 77 feet in sixty seconds. The Ball is a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, weighing approximately 1,070 pounds. The Ball is covered with 504 Waterford crystal triangles, 696 multicolored Philips light bulbs, 96 high intensity strobe lights, and 90 rotating pyramid mirrors.


12:00 a.m. -- New Year's Day:
2004 Sign
At the stroke of Midnight, the light bulbs on the New Year’s Eve Ball are turned off as the numerals of the New Year “2004” burst to life shining high above Times Square.

Grucci’s Grand Illuminations
A spectacular Grucci Fireworks display strategically positioned atop One Times Square brilliantly illuminates the sky. The computer-controlled bursts of custom-mixed colors glitter in the night, and are synchronized with the other special effects.

Confetti
The world-famous New Year's Eve confetti is released from rooftop setbacks of buildings throughout Times Square creating a celebratory blizzard of colorful confetti as revelers greet the New Year.

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[Serena]

TIMES SQUARE NEW YEAR'S EVE BALL
DESIGNED BY WATERFORD CRYSTAL

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Ball Design by Waterford Crystal

• The Ball is a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, and weighs approximately 1,070 pounds.
• The Ball is covered with a total of 504 Waterford crystal triangles that vary in size, and range in length from 4 ¾ inches to 5 ¾ inches per side.

• For Times Square 2004, 72 of the crystal triangles will feature the new Hope for Unity design which consists of three flowing cut motifs converging to form one singular pattern from which scores of brilliant individual cuts radiate outward. The remaining 432 triangles feature Waterford designs from previous years (i.e. 72 Hope for Courage, 72 Hope for Healing, 72 Hope for Abundance, and 216 Star of Hope triangles).

• The 504 Waterford crystal triangles are bolted to 168 translucent triangular lexan panels which are attached to the aluminum frame of the Ball.

Ball Light Bulbs Developed by Philips Lighting Company
• The exterior of the Ball is illuminated by 168 Philips Halogená Brilliant Crystal light bulbs, exclusively engineered for the New Year’s Eve Ball to enhance the Waterford crystal.

• The interior of the Ball is illuminated by 432 Philips Light Bulbs (208 clear, 56 red, 56 blue, 56 green, and 56 yellow), and 96 high-intensity strobe lights, which together create bright bubbling bursts of color.

• The exterior of the Ball features 90 rotating pyramid mirrors that reflect light back into the audience at Times Square.

• The 696 lights and 90 rotating pyramid mirrors are computer controlled, enabling the Ball to produce a state-of-the-art light show of eye-dazzling colorful patterns and a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.

Ball History
• The first New Year’s Eve Ball lowering celebration atop One Times Square was in 1907. This proud tradition is now a universal symbol of the New Year. The New Year’s Eve Ball is the property of the building owners of One Times Square.


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[Amos Stevens]

Thank you Serena-stuff I didn't know!

And I still don't want to be one of the ones that have to clean it up!

[ORANGATUANG]

Thanks Serena your time square is like our sydney harbour bridge when everythings all
lit up it really looks specky, fantastic in otherwords..The celbrations on the telly in Australia last night was great as always..I wish that i could see more about your celebrations in time square..Heather.

[Lotussan]

Thanks, Serena...

[Sleeping Fox]

Ya know I'm glad my Cynical/ironic mind wasn't right...
I was waiting for a ka-boom
3
2
1
...
Damn home made fertilizer bomb!
...
KABOOM!

[suziwong]

Thank you Serena !!nice !!

in onenesss

[Serena]

You're all welcome. I enjoy these factoids myself, which is I why I always find Amos' informative posts interesting.

Fox -
I'm gonna give you a kaboom!


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[Sleeping Fox]

ya promise *evil Grin*