The New Year’s Eve “ball drop” takes place in New York City’s Times Square, on the roof of the building known as One Times Square in Midtown Manhattan.

Main location

  • The Times Square Ball is mounted atop One Times Square at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.
  • The illuminated ball descends a special pole on the building’s roof starting at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time to mark the beginning of the new year.

Nearby viewing areas

  • Public viewing for the ball drop is centered in Times Square, generally along Broadway and Seventh Avenue between about 43rd and 50th Streets.
  • Crowds gather many hours in advance in these blocks, which New York City closes to traffic for the event.

Tradition context

  • The Times Square ball drop has been a New Year’s Eve tradition since the early 1900s and is now watched by large in‑person crowds and global TV and online audiences each year.
  • The event is considered one of the most famous New Year’s celebrations in the world, symbolizing the moment the old year ends and the new one begins.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.