Chilly New York welcomes 2026 in grand style — PHOTOS
NEW YORK — Crowds bundled up against the chilly temperatures cheered and embraced as the New Year’s Eve ball covered in more than 5,000 crystals descended down a pole in Times Square on Wednesday night.
Revelers wearing tall celebratory hats and light-up necklaces had waited for hours to see the 12,350-pound ball drop. The festivities also included Tones and I performing John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
The television hosts interviewed visitors who were attending from such places as Florida, Mexico and South Korea, and read people’s wishes for the new year.
After the ball dropped it was scheduled to rise again, sparkling in red, white and blue, to mark the country’s upcoming 250th birthday.
Police in the city had planned additional anti-terrorism measures at the ball drop, with “mobile screening teams.” It was not in response to a specific threat, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
