The theme of the New Year’s Dance 2021 is the gift of goodwill.
Chances are you’re ringing 2021 with a glass of bubbles in your hand, watching the New Year’s Ball come down from the flagpole at the top of One Times Square and sing, “If you forgot anyone you know. .. ”
Some traditions never change. The New Year’s Ball, for example, has been an event in Times Square since 1907. Seven versions of the ball have ushered in a new year as partygoers below (and around the world) celebrate what’s to come. . The ball has been dropped in Times Square each year, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943 for the “dimout” of war lights.
The first ball weighed 700 pounds, was built of iron and wood and lit with 100 light bulbs. It has since been transformed into a 12-foot-diameter geodesic sphere that weighs 11,875 pounds.
At 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 31, the ball will slowly make the long-awaited journey down from its 140-foot-high, gleaming pole with 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles. Each triangle is screwed to 672 LED modules (light emitting diodes), which are attached to the aluminum frame of the ball. The 32,256 LEDs allow for more than 16 million colors and billions of patterns. You should get your eyes very hard to see the 192 new triangles adorned with the 2021 three-pineapple goodwill gift pattern, the international symbol of hospitality.
Waterford Crystal has been supplying ball triangles since 1999 and is in charge of choosing the annual themes. The crystal triangles are shipped to New York City four weeks before the big night and stored in a vault in an undisclosed location not far from One Times Square, according to Tom Brennan, the master craftsman from Waterford .
A select group of 100 Waterford employees – including engineers, glassblowers and technicians – are involved in the design and manufacture of the New Year’s ball, a process that begins in mid-January.
Every December 27th, Waterford technicians fix the triangles carefully and the testing process continues until 6pm on December 31st. Waterford runs no risk: the company has backups if last-minute setbacks occur.
“I’m crossing my fingers, touching the wood as we talk … we’re so sure this will be absolutely perfect for everyone to see around the world,” Brennan told ABC News.
He added: “The machinery, technology and hydraulics behind it all are remarkable.”
Lola Cristall, who lives in Paris, got a look at the ball last Friday, the first time she saw it up close.
“It’s absolutely exquisite,” he told ABC News. “The ball is much bigger in real life.”
Matthew Libassi of Long Island said every year he sees the ball fall on television. But “to touch it, take a picture of it … it’s a little surreal,” he told ABC News. “This is a unique opportunity in life.”