Times Square marks New Year's Eve 2025 in New York City

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Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Wikinews

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

Wikinews

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

People from around the world last night celebrated the coming new year with the ceremonial ball drop in Times Square, New York.

Preparation for the festivities started on the weekend, during which workers had set up stages, sound systems, and displays for the event. Between 42nd and 48th Streets and beyond, massive amounts of equipment for the event were set up by production crews. On side streets, large containers were parked housing broadcasting equipment.

Saturday, December 28, was Good Riddance Day, an annual event hosted by actor Jonathan Bennett. People lined up, braving the slight precipitation, to write on little chalkboards things they want to leave behind in 2024, and cathartically erase them. Messages erased were put up onto a tall display in Times Square, below the ball, floating up to the sky. Bystanders could alternatively submit on a form via QR code for it to float away as well.

"I think a lot of times we make a New Year's resolution for things that we want to do, but we forget there's a whole bunch of stuff that we could leave behind. And I like the idea of, 'Hey, I'm not bringing this into another year,'" A participant named Jennine told Wikinews "I like getting rid of it;" Julie, who was with her, added, "Empty your cup before before you fill it back up."

Separately, a participant named Mireia told Wikinews that she wanted to say 'Good riddance' to her mother's ovarian cancer. "She['s had] cancer for one year and a half ... but it's very bad cancer," adding that her mother has stage IV. She was participating in Good Riddance Day while on holiday from Spain in order to share her story with scientists working on treatments and "send that missive to the world."

On Monday and Tuesday, leading up to New Year's Eve, merchants hawked cheap New Year's-themed merchandise. These tables were scattered across the streets of Manhattan, often situated right by subway station entrances going in the direction to Times Square.

On New Year's Eve, at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in Times Square, large crowds gathered for hours to see the Ball Drop, weathering stormy conditions through the evening and wrapping themselves in plastic ponchos; many streets were blocked off, between 6th ave 8th avenues, between 38th street and 56th street, with various entrances placed at different intersections for crowd control. Small crowds would be placed in 'holding pens', placed along paths approaching Times Square; occasionally, police officers would allow some people in one pen to join the next pen and get closer to Times Square.

Rain started around 7PM; an hour before the ball descended, the rain stopped and the weather cleared to allow for an ideal viewing experience. Shorly before midnight, Mickey Guyton performed a version of John Lennon's Imagine. Once the ball dropped, following a countdown until midnight, large amounts of confetti were released, which included little colored pieces of paper on which people had written messages.

"We came last year and we were all the way in Central Park," a woman named Ile told Wikinews in Times Square, after midnight. "We couldn't see too much, so we said 'next year we will come back.' We made it." What about next year? Her partner David replied: "We're going to be even closer to the stage."

As soon as people started departing, crews began to dismantle just about everything. Even the ball will be dismantled, as it is to be retired and replaced—with a new iteration for a tradition that began in the early twentieth century.