Times Square’s New Year’s Eve Ball Gets Adorned with 192 New Waterford Crystals
2 min read
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
New Year’s Eve is just a few days away, and the folks behind the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City are getting ready. It’s an annual tradition for people around the U.S. – even the world – to watch the big, sparkly ball drop in Times Square to ring in a new year and new chapter.
Each year, organizers like to switch up the ball, so it’s not the same design. On Monday (Dec. 27), the ball got fashioned with 192 new Waterford crystals, according to a tweet from the New Year’s Eve ball’s official Twitter account, featuring this year’s design, “the gift of wisdom.” The 192 Waterford crystals joined the more than 2,000 glittering triangles covering the ball.
The New Year’s Eve ball’s Twitter account has been tweeting out updates about the upcoming event all month. What’s extra entertaining is that the account tweets out as if the ball is a real personality. “Okay I’m sooo ready for my closeup,” a recent tweet stated.
The geodesic sphere measures a mighty 12 feet in diameter and weighs 11,875 pounds. Each year, it gets new crystal facets to represent motifs for the new year, such as Harmony, Goodwill, Happiness, Serenity, Kindness and Wonder. The ball features 2,688 intricate crystal panels, each from 4-3/4 inches to 5-3/4 inches long.
This year’s New Year’s Eve in Times Square event was originally planned to bring together more than 58,000 people to watch the ball drop, but it’s been scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and omicron variant. This year, the event in the heart of New York City will be limited to 15,000 people. For information, visit the Times Square New Year’s Eve website.
People attending the Times Square ball drop will be required to wear masks and provide proof of vaccination. Attendees will have to be fully vaccinated if they’re older than 5, and unvaccinated children younger than 5 will have to be accompanied by a vaccinated adult, according to a release from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office.
Okay I’m sooo ready for my closeup. 2022 I literally can’t wait for you ✨ Watch me drop on New Year’s Eve at https://t.co/R3xVOJWdav 🎉 pic.twitter.com/yQirgD2HLx
— Times Square Ball (@timessquareball) December 14, 2021
Do these crystals make me look wise??
I got 192 brand new #waterford crystals installed today, featuring this year’s design “the gift of wisdom” 🧐 pic.twitter.com/mhvBXEybZF
— Times Square Ball (@timessquareball) December 27, 2021
