Times Square Ball

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Old version of the Times Square Ball in preparation for New Years Eve 2008
Times Square Ball from above

The Times Square Ball is a time ball that has been lowered from a pole to the roof of New York's One Times Square skyscraper every year since 1907 on New Year's Eve . This "ball drop" ceremony begins 60 seconds before the New Year and is one of the highlights of the US New Year celebrations.

The ball manufactured by Waterford Crystal is a geodesic sphere and contains 32,256 light-emitting diodes . The version used since 2008 has a diameter of 3.7 meters (12 feet ) and a weight of 5,386 kilograms (11,875 pounds ).

In culture

The "ball drop" was part of the plot of the film Happy New Year from 2011. The ceremony also played a role in the finale of the 2015 thriller Survivor .

Web links

Commons : Times Square Ball  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 22.7 "  N , 73 ° 59 ′ 11.2"  W.