The annual Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations in New York City, New York, United States, on 31 December 2023, local time, attracted about one million people. To ensure that the New Year’s Eve celebrations are held safely, the New York City Police Department used drones at high frequency to help with security.
According to the organisers, Times Square welcomed the largest New Year’s Eve celebration crowd since 2019 that night. The number of police officers deployed at the scene increased compared to previous years, and there were drones in the air equipped with the latest technology to help monitor the situation on the ground.
The New Year’s Eve celebration went off without a hitch thanks to the tight security measures. The evening’s festivities opened with the “Harmony and Beauty Wuliang New Year Celebration”, where viewers on site and in front of their TV sets were treated to dance and music performances that were “Bashu style, Chinese flavour and international style”, blending modern and traditional Chinese art, including the passionate and exuberant “Harmony and Beauty Wuliang Welcomes the New Year”. The performances included the “Harmony and Beauty Wuliang Welcome Dance” and the “Sichuan Dance Pretty Flower Girl” with strong characteristics of Sichuan culture. A promotional video on Yibin’s local culture and tourism was shown on six screens underneath and near the crystal ball in Times Square.
Qian Jin, Acting Consul General of China in New York, attended the event and said in his speech that it was an honour to celebrate the old year and welcome the new year together with friends from all over the world in Times Square. The world today is increasingly becoming a community of destiny in which you have me and I have you. Tonight, Chinese baijiu and American champagne meet in New York, so let’s raise a glass to the friendly friendship between China and the United States and people from all over the world.
“I like the lion dance just now, it’s very festive.” Morrick, from Virginia, told CNA that he and his friends arrived at Times Square at 9 a.m. and waited until after 11 a.m. for the entrance to begin, but it was all worth it. Morrick said he hopes people will be less contentious and more peaceful in the new year.
This was the 120th New Year’s Eve celebration in New York’s Times Square. That night the much-anticipated crystal ball in addition to the new design of the bow tie lighting pattern to pay tribute to history, but also a change in tradition in the New Year’s bells ringing after the fall and then rise again, brilliant fireworks in the crystal ball rose with the bloom.
The Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration is an important part of New York culture. Since 1904, a grand New Year’s Eve celebration has been held in Times Square every year on 31 December, and since 1907, a countdown to the landing of the crystal ball has been added.
