The Times Square ball is prepared to welcome guests
A brand new viewing platform at One Times Square affords a contemporary take a look at the crossroads of the world and lets guests stand up shut to the well-known ball.
The ball is ready to drop, and New York City’s Times Square is all set to welcome company from far and extensive for its New Year’s Eve celebrations to bid 2025 goodbye and welcome the new year with aplomb.
The iconic venue is prepared for the celebrations after organizers tested the new and updated Constellation Ball, described because the “centerpiece” of the annual countdown celebration and “a universal symbol of the New Year,” at Times Square on Dec. 30. With 5,280 Waterford crystals and LED gentle pucks, the ball options almost double the variety of crystals because the earlier ball, in accordance to a One Times Square information launch.
The ball drop custom at Times Square started in 1907, although New Year’s Eve celebrations on the venue have been first held in 1904.
“This proud tradition is now a universal symbol of the New Year,” Times Square says on its website. About 3,000 pounds of confetti with folks’s needs for the brand new 12 months may also be dropped to have a good time the event.
While hundreds collect to watch the large shimmering ball make its 60-second descent down the flagpole and rely down to the New Year at midnight, thousands and thousands of others tune into the celebrations live from wherever they’re.
Here’s what to know in regards to the annual Times Square custom and the way to watch the celebrations on NCS and streaming.
How to watch and stream NCS’s 2026 New Year’s Eve particular with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen
Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen will return for the ninth consecutive 12 months as co-hosts of NCS’s “New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.” They will host the present live from Times Square, guiding “viewers into 2026 with an evening filled with music, laughter, and live coverage of celebrations from around the world,” in accordance to a information launch.
The present will start at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 31, and can stream completely on NCS’s new streaming subscription platform, out there to subscribers at NCS.com/AllAccess, and on NCS’s cell app and linked TV apps on Smart TVs, in accordance to the channel.
NCS reporters may also present live protection of the celebration all through the night time, with Richard Quest reporting live from the crowds in Times Square, Randi Kaye reporting from New Orleans, Louisiana, Stephanie Elam from Atlantis, Paradise Island within the Bahamas, Isabel Rosales from Greater Lauderdale, Florida, and Harry Enten from Prescott, Arizona.
What time is the 2026 ball drop?
The Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations will kick off at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 31, and the New Year’s Eve ball will likely be raised to the highest of the pole at One Times Square. At precisely 11:59 p.m. ET, the ball will make its 60-second descent down the flagpole to sign the beginning of the brand new 12 months.
This 12 months’s Constellation Ball is the ninth iteration of the ball since its debut in 1907 and the most important one but, measuring 12.5 ft in diameter and weighing 12,350 kilos, according to a One Times Square news release. Organizers stated the ball additionally “features new modernized technology, with state-of-the-art lighting, motion, and control system, as well as a new signature sound and interactive capabilities.”
This 12 months, the ball is additionally anticipated to mark America’s 250th anniversary. America250 announced on Dec. 27 the “surprise second post-midnight moment” and stated the ball will likely be relit with an America250 design, rising above the illuminated “2026” numerals at roughly 12:04 a.m. ET.
Who is acting on New Year’s Eve on NCS?
Guests on NCS embrace Stephen Colbert, Florence + The Machine, RAYE, Oz Perlman, Amy Sedaris, Brandi Carlile, Aloe Blacc, Patti LaBelle, songwriter Michelle Williams, Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell, B.J. Novak, Leanne Morgan and Sarah Sherman, amongst others, with Robyn performing live at Times Square.
Brandy and Monica from The BPC (Black Promoters Collective) The Boy Is Mine Tour and Bryan Adams, in the meantime, will carry out live from Madison Square Garden in NYC. Shakira will ring within the new 12 months from Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
At Times Square, Jenn O’Hagan will carry out the National Anthem adopted by musical performances by the night time together with by B.o.B at 6:30 p.m. ET, Tones and I at 11:55 p.m., and a dance efficiency by New York dance group AGNEW at 8:41 p.m., Times Square said.
How to watch 2026 Times Square ball drop
While a number of broadcasters will likely be airing the New Year’s Eve celebrations live on their TV channels and streaming platforms audiences also can catch the live webcast on Times Square’s official website beginning 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
“Enjoy commercial-free, webcast coverage of the festivities leading up to the Ball Drop at midnight, including backstage access, behind-the-scenes stories and interviews with performers and other celebrities,” Times Square says on their web site.
A livestream with open captions and American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation may also be out there on YouTube.
USA TODAY may also be streaming the New Year’s Eve celebrations from Times Square live.
Saman Shafiq is a trending information reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and observe her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.