Preparations at Times Square in New York City for the New Year's Eve party are in full swing, and the arrival of this year's New Year's Eve ball has been successfully completed.
The sphere is covered with more than 2,600 Waterford crystals.
The moth of this year's crystal design is called, the Gift of Kindness . 288 of the crystals are cut into rosettes, rose-shaped decoration, to symbolize unity.
The sphere is a geodesic globe (earth-shaped), it has a diameter of 3.7 meters and weighs 5.4 kg.
The tradition of dropping a ball to mark a special moment dates back to the 19th century, but did not originate as a New Year's Eve custom . "Time balls" were once displayed in ports and lowered daily to signal a specific time of day so that ships could set the precise chronometers they used for navigation. The New Year's Eve tradition began in 1907 when a time ball was lowered as part of a public celebration hosted by The New York Times at its own building in Times Square.
The Times Square Ball has been redesigned several times over the decades. It was originally made of iron, wood and 25 watt light bulbs. The ball, which will drop at midnight on Saturday evening, is made of Waterford crystal triangles, illuminated by thousands of LED lights.
Every year a million people gather in Times Square to celebrate "Ball Drop," and a trillion people worldwide watch the spectacle . Many of the visitors line up in Times Square in the morning to get one of the better seats. Last week, the NYPD, FBI and Homeland Security released a joint security briefing ahead of the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, no backpacks or bags will be allowed .
Helpful information for participants:
- The first guests line up around 11 a.m.
- At 3 p.m., Times Square is cordoned off by the police, and from then on only guests with tickets for the surrounding restaurants have access.
- Backpacks and bags are not allowed.
- Alcohol and fireworks are strictly prohibited.
- Warm and comfortable clothing as you will be standing for a long time.