The Times Square Ball is a time ball located in New York City's Times Square. Located on the roof of One Times Square, the ball is a prominent part of a New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square commonly referred to as the ball drop, where the ball descends down a specially designed flagpole, beginning at 11:59:00 p.m. ET, and resting at 12:00:00 a.m. to signal the start of the new year.
The event was first organized by then-New York Times owner Adolph Ochs, expanding upon New Year's fireworks displays he held at the building since 1904 to promote its status as the Times' headquarters. The ball itself was designed by sign company Artkraft Strauss, and inspired by the time ball at the Western Union Telegraph Building. First held on December 31, 1907, to welcome 1908, the ball drop has been held annually since, except in 1942 and 1943 in observance of wartime blackouts during World War II.
The ball has been updated six times to reflect improvements in lighting technology: the original ball was 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter, constructed from wood and iron, and illuminated with 100 incandescent light bulbs. By contrast, the sixth iteration of the ball contained over 32,000 LEDs, and the seventh iteration which debuted for 2025–26 is 12.5 feet (3.8 m) in diameter. Since 1999–2000, the ball has typically featured an outer surface consisting of crystal panels manufactured by Waterford Crystal, which contain inscriptions and designs representing a yearly theme; the current ball contains over 5,000 circular panels of varying sizes.
The ball itself has remained atop One Times Square nearly year-round since 2009. As part of a renovation of One Times Square, the ball became accessible to the public in November 2025 as part of a new observation deck attraction, with visitors also able to purchase outgoing crystals from the ball as keepsakes. The prevalence of the event has inspired similar "drops" at other local New Year's Eve events across the country; while some use balls, some instead drop objects that represent local culture or history.
The ball has occasionally been lowered outside of midnight ET on New Year's Eve, including for promotional purposes (including a reported use in 1983 to inaugurate a new Times Square sign, and Toshiba briefly sponsoring a drop for midnight in Japan on the morning of December 31), and the current ball being lowered multiple times per-day for public viewings on One Times Square's observation deck. On July 3 and 4, 2026, the ball was lowered eight times for midnight on Independence Day in each U.S. time zone, as part of a commemoration of the United States Semiquincentennial.
To facilitate the arrival of attendees, Times Square is closed to traffic beginning in the late afternoon on New Year's Eve. The square is then divided into different viewing sections referred to as "pens", into which attendees are directed sequentially upon arrival. Security is strictly enforced by the New York City Police Department (NYPD), even more so since the 2001–02 edition in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Attendees are required to pass through security checkpoints before they are assigned a pen and are prohibited from bringing backpacks or alcohol to the event.
Security was increased further for its 2017–18 edition due to recent incidents such as the truck attack in New York on October 31, and the 2017 Las Vegas shooting; these included additional patrols of Times Square hotels, rooftop patrol squads and counter-snipers, and the installation of reflective markers on buildings to help officers identify the location of elevated shooters. For 2018–19, the NYPD announced its intent to use a camera-equipped quadcopter to augment the over 1,200 fixed cameras monitoring Times Square, but it was left grounded due to inclement weather.
Festivities formally begin in the early evening, with an opening ceremony featuring the raising of the ball at 6:00 p.m. ET. Party favours are distributed to attendees, which have historically included large balloons, hats, and other items branded with the event's corporate sponsors. The lead-up to midnight features a program of entertainment, including musical performances. Some of these performances are organized and televised by New Year's Eve television specials broadcasting from Times Square, such as ABC's New Year's Rockin' Eve —which first began featuring live headliners in 2005–06.
The climax of the festivities is the drop itself, which begins at 11:59:00 p.m. ET. Officially, the drop is activated from a control room within One Times Square, synchronized using an National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) time signal received via satellite; a ceremonial button is pressed on-stage by the mayor of New York City and/or invited dignitaries.
At the conclusion of the drop, a numeral sign indicating the new year is illuminated, and a fireworks show is launched from the roof of One Times Square; the fireworks are presently backed by a medley of songs, which have traditionally included "Auld Lang Syne" as performed by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, and "Theme from New York, New York" as performed by Frank Sinatra, among others.
At least 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) of confetti are dropped in Times Square at midnight, overseen since 1992 by Treb Heining—a professional balloon artist who has directed confetti and balloon drops at other major U.S. events such as the presidential nominating conventions. It is thrown by a team of 100 volunteers (referred to internally by Heining as "confetti dispersal engineers") lining the rooftops of eight Times Square buildings. Treb developed the event's signature "blizzard" effect, using larger confetti pieces better-suited to the outdoor environment. Since 2007–08, some of the pieces have been inscribed with messages of hope for the new year, which are submitted through a public "Wishing Wall" erected in Times Square (where visitors can write messages on them directly), and the Times Square website.
Since 1996, the drop has often been ceremonially "activated" on-stage by one or more dignitaries, joined by the current mayor of New York City, who are selected to recognize their community involvement or significance.
1996–97: Philanthropist Oseola McCarty
1997–98: A group of five winners from a school essay contest honoring the centennial of the City of Greater New York
1998–99: Sang Lan, a Chinese gymnast who was injured during the 1998 Goodwill Games and was being rehabilitated in New York City.
1999–2000: Mary Ann Hopkins from Doctors Without Borders
2001–02: Judith Nathan, future wife of Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
2002–03: Actors Christopher and Dana Reeve