The Times Square ball drop, which has over 100 years of history in the US, has gained tremendous popularity in recent years and, with the advent of social media, it has now grown into a global phenomenon.
Millions of revellers fighting chilling weather converge to New York City's iconic land mark Time Square to watch the famous ball drop as the clock strikes 12 midnight.
And for those unlucky ones, who cannot make it to the Manhattan midtown on New Year's Eve, the show organizers have teamed up with an app developer - Countdown Entertainment - to help billions of fans across the globe to witness the event live on their smartphones and tablets, under the cozy comforts of their home.
The new version of 'Times Square Official New Year's Eve Ball' app has been released for free in Apple App store and Google Play store.
Key features of Times Square Official New Year's Eve Ball app include:
- Watch live streaming of exclusive events
- Get real-time updates via twitter
- Customize countdown clock with your personal photo and time zone
System requirements:
| Platform | Apple devices | Android devices |
| OS version compatible | iOS v6.0 and above | v2.3.3 and above |
| Size | 9.1 MB | 4.6MB |
| Last updated | 10 December 2013 | 7 December 2013 |
2013-14 Times Square ball drop event highlights:
Special guests:
Since 1996-97, the Times Square ball drop organizers began a new tradition of inviting special guests to trigger the ball drop. Many celebrities, including former boxing champion Muhammad Ali, Bill and Hillary Clinton, pop sensation Lady Gaga, have done the honour in previous years.
This year, the US Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor will press the Waterford crystal button that signals the descent of the New Year's Eve ball, lead by the final 60-second countdown to the New Year on the countdown stage.
That's not all; NASA astronaut Mike Massimino will also participate in the New Year's Eve Countdown event on Tuesday evening. He also will introduce a video greeting from Expedition 36 flight engineer Karen Nyberg, who returned from the International Space Station in November, and from three of the astronauts currently on board the space station: NASA's Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins, and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Besides the special guests of honor, the event will also witness musical and cultural performances.
Performance Schedule:
- 6:00 to 6:03 PM EST, Times Square New Year's Eve Ball will be raised to the 70-feet pole
- 6:04 to 6:14 PM EST, the event will kick-off with Chinese cultural performance by the Sino-American Friendship Association ("SAFA") sponsored Shandong, the home of Confucius and Kung Fu celebrated with a colorful fan dance
- 7:01 to 7:12 EST, the USO Show Troupe will perform an Andrews Sisters medley and a military salute to honor the US armed forces
- 8:15 to 8.27 PM EST, musical performance by Rodney Atkins (courtesy: FNC's "All American New Year")
- 8:35 to 8:41 PM EST, musical performance by Icona Pop (Courtesy- ABC's 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve')
- 8:58 to 9:00 PM EST, Waterford Crystal Toast
- 9:14 to 9:25 PM EST, musical performance by Mellisa Etheridge, includes two songs- 'I'm the Only One' and 'Bring Me Some Water'
- 9:32 to 9:39 PM EST, musical performance by Blondie ((Courtesy- ABC's 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve')
- 9:57 to 10:00 PM EST, hourly count down with Spider-Man, joined by Marc Webb, the director of soon to be released 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' will lead a 10-second countdown (later in the hour, the director will air exclusive Times Square action footage of the movie ).
- 10:01 to 10:11 EST, musical performance by El Dosa (courtesy-Univision)
- 10:37 to 10:44 PM EST, musical performance by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (Courtesy- ABC's 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve')
- 11:02 to 11:11 PM EST, musical performance by Jencarlos Canel (courtesy-Univision)
- 11:52 to 11:59 PM EST, special performance by Mellisa Etheridge, will sing her new single 'Uprising of Love' and John Lennon' s track 'Imagine'
- 11:59 PM EST, 60 second countdown begins; the event reaches the climax as the lighted ball descends 70 feet in sixty seconds
- 12:00 AM EST, confetti is released from the rooftops of buildings throughout Times Square culminating with the grand pyrotechnic show lighting the whole of New York City skies.
