Times Square ball goes red, white and blue for America's 250th birthday
This year's crystal ball in Times Square drop to celebrate 2026 will feature a patriotic touch for America's 250th birthday.
The ball will sparkle in red, white and blue to usher in the new year and kick off months of celebrations for the nation’s birthday. And a second confetti drop will happen at 12:04 a.m. on New Year's Day, America250 chair Rosie Rios told Fox News.
The iconic ball drop in Times Square is one of the biggest and most watched events on New Year's Eve, which typically sees up to 1 million people packing the area, sometimes in frigid temperatures.
A second ball drop event is being planned for July 3, the eve of the nation's birthday, "in the same beautiful style that Times Square knows how to do it," Rios said.
It will mark the first time in 120 years there will be ball drop in Times Square that doesn't occur on New Year's Eve, she said.
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The celebration will come ahead of months of big and small events to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
"I’m telling you right now, whatever you’re imagining, it’s going to be much more than that," said America250 Chair Rosie Rios, who oversees the bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2016 to organize the semiquincentennial anniversary, told The Associated Press. "It's going to be one for the ages, the most inspirational celebration this country and maybe the world has ever seen."
The group worked with the Times Square Alliance business district and One Times Square, the building from where the ball is dropped, to make the changes to this year's ceremonies.
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The ball drop has occurred in Times Square nearly every year since 1907. The only years when no ball drop occurred were 1942 and 1943, when New York City instituted a nightly "dimout" during World War II to protect itself from attacks.
In addition to the ball drop, America Gives, a national service initiative created by America250, which launch at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1.
American250 will participate in the New Years Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, with a float themed "Soaring Onward Together for 250 Years."
President Donald Trump has also announced the "Freedom 250" initiative to coordinate additional events for the 250th anniversary.
Rios said a wide range of celebrations and programs are planned next year to commemorate America's birthday, ranging from large fireworks displays and statewide potluck suppers to student contests and citizen oral histories.
The events, she said, are an opportunity to unite a politically divided nation.
"If we can find something for everyone ... having those menus of options that people can pick and choose how they want to participate," she told the AP. "That’s how we’re going to get to engaging 350 million Americans."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.