New York New Years Eve Events, NYC Fireworks, Ball Drop, Parties 2013 NYE Webcam Views

New York New Years Eve Events, NYC Fireworks, Ball Drop, Parties 2013 NYE Webcam Views

Times Square is a major component of the New Year's Eve celebration, with the world famous ball drop. The 11,875-pound, 12-foot diameter Waterford crystal ball located on the roof of One Times Square begins descending its tower at 11:59 pm, and triggers fireworks at the stroke of midnight when it reaches the bottom. Toshiba's Times Square billboard screen, the "ToshibaVision", also displays a timer with the crowd counting at the final ten seconds. This practice debuted when ITT branded the sign in 1996, but has been revamped with changes in its sponsorship during the years. From 1981 to 1988, the city revamped the ball to resemble a large apple, in recognition of its nickname as "the Big Apple". Similar ball drops are performed in many towns and cities across the United States. The custom derives from the time signal that used to be given at noon in harbors.

There is so much going on in New York on New Years Eve it's really difficult to know where to begin! So let's start with the obvious, there will be an absolutely enormous fireworks display in Times Square, second in popularity only to Sydney on a global scale and watched worldwide by an estimated audience in excess of 1 billion, although it you include replays and news broadcasts the number probably far exceeds even this amount.