American New Year's Eve is Dec. 31, local time.
The annual Times Square New Year's Eve celebration in New York City, U.S.A., was held as scheduled on Dec. 31, local time, with about a million people buzzing in the rain to welcome the new year. This is the first time since the new crown pandemic Times Square held the New Year's Eve celebration to remove the epidemic prevention restrictions.
The evening kicked off with music and dance performances from Hong Kong, China. Modern dance troupe TS Crew, world harmonica champion Ho Cheuk-yin and erhu virtuoso Chan Pik-qin gave a spectacular performance of "Modern Kung Fu Circus," featuring music adapted by legendary jazz pianist and composer Lo Sheung-ching. Mr. Huang Ping, Consul General of China in New York, Mr. Zhang Jinping, President of the U.S.-China Friendship Association, and Mr. Nie Jien, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York, were among the guests who attended the opening ceremony.
In the program that followed, JVKE, a new-generation American singer-songwriter; J-Hope, a member of the Korean idol group Bulletproof Teenagers (BTS); and Duran Duran, a British band that took the world by storm in the 1980s and '90s, set off a number of high points.
At 2359 hours, a countdown began to be displayed on a large screen in Times Square. In the midst of the cheering, a crystal ball with the theme "Gift of Love" made up of 2,688 triangular crystal panels slowly fell down, and fireworks burst out, with thousands of pieces of colorful paper with New Year's wishes written on them floating in the air. People welcomed the new year with songs and cheers.
Times Square New Year's Eve Celebration
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 December 31, and since 1907, a countdown to the landing of the crystal ball has been added. In 2020, Times Square had its first New Year's Eve that was closed to the public due to the New Crown Epidemic, and in 2021, the public was required to submit to a vaccination certificate for admission. 2022, the New Year's Eve Celebration lifted the immunization restriction and was opened to the public in its entirety.