New York counts down to 250th with timeless tradition

New York City will count down the final seconds of America’s first 250 years with a ball descending in Times Square, a spin off the city’s beloved New Year’s Eve tradition. New York has marked each new year since 1907–1908 by dropping a giant, shiny sphere.

While numerous other U.S. cities, including Detroit and Las Vegas, now also drop a ball to ring in the new year, July 4, 2026, will be the first time New York will honor the nation’s independence with the iconic Times Square ritual.

The 12-foot (3.6 meter) wide, 12,000-pound (5,400 kilogram) ball that glistens with thousands of hand-made crystals will sparkle red, white and blue. The ball will drop eight times as the clock strikes midnight in each time zone across America’s 50 states as well as its territories. Given the breadth of time zones, festivities will last most of the day.

The Times Square party is one of many semiquincentennial festivals happening across the country. In the nation’s capital, the Salute to America on the National Mall will mark the 250th anniversary with musical performances, military flyovers and a record-setting fireworks show.