NEW YORK (TNND) — For the first time in history, Times Square will host a post-midnight ball drop on New Year’s Eve, officially welcoming 2026 and the start of a year-long celebration for America’s 250th birthday.
The iconic ball will light up with an America250 design, and 2,000 pounds of red, white and blue confetti will drop from the sky with a dynamic pyro finale set to Ray Charles’ rendition of “America the Beautiful,” according to organizers.
“New Year’s Eve will be the start of a year-long partnership that will build to a historic second Times Square Ball Drop to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth on the eve of the Fourth of July,” America250 said in a news release.
The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball drops during New Year’s celebration in Times Square on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023 in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
America250 Chair Rosie Rios, who oversees the bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2016 to organize the semiquincentennial anniversary, worked with the Times Square Alliance business district and One Times Square, the building from where the ball is dropped, to make changes to this year’s ceremonies.
“Our goal is to inspire all 350 million Americans to join in this moment to celebrate our country,” Rios said.
Ahead of the second ball drop, America250 will reveal the ball design atop One Times Square during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and Rios will invite Americans to take part in America Gives, an initiative aimed at making 2026 the largest year of service ever recorded.
At the New Year’s Day Rose Parade in California, America250 said it will have a float themed “Soaring Onward Together for 250 Years,” featuring three larger-than-life bald eagles representing the country’s past, present and future.
On July 3, the Times Square Ball will drop again to mark America250’s nationwide Independence Day celebrations and “reinforce New York City’s central role in the nation’s Semiquincentennial.”
President Donald Trump also announced the “Freedom 250” initiative earlier this month to coordinate additional events for America’s 250th anniversary.
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