- Title: New Year’s Eve ball test successful
- Date: 30th December 2016
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 30, 2016) (REUTERS) CRYSTAL BALL GOING UP FOR TEST (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT TIM TOMPKINS, SAYING: "The test went well you know you really want to make sure that everything's right before the performance so this is our dress rehearsal and the ball did brilliantly if I may say so." CRYSTAL BALL GOING UP FOR TEST (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT TIM TOMPKINS, SAYING: "So, they'll probably be anywhere from a half a million to. Could be as many as a million people out there on New Year's Eve. But more importantly this 200 million people watching their broadcast domestically. There there's a live webcast for six hours at Times Square NYC dot org. And then there's about a billion people worldwide who see some part of the Times Square New Year's Eve celebrations turned into strolling a number of people here because it's this time when the world looks forward with a sense of hope and new beginnings." CRYSTAL BALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT TIM TOMPKINS, SAYING: "One of the things that's really special about this year is that our honored guest is the secretary general of United Nations. And we chose him because of the association with the United Nations. After a year that has been very divisive, both in the United States and Europe, where, you know, Britain pulled out is pulling out of the European Union. There's all these debates about migration and immigration. So we wanted to send a message that yes the world is a challenging place but during a year when there's been a lot of divisiveness and tribalism we wanted to say come together, with the world should, and the nation should work together to solve problems." VARIOUS OF CRYSTAL BALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT TIM TOMPKINS, SAYING: "We have total confidence in the NYPD, and the city's administration is doing everything necessary and possible to make people feel secure." VARIOUS OF CRYSTAL BALL VARIOUS OF NYPD CONCRETE BLOCKADES IN TIMES SQUARE POLICE CAR VARIOUS OF WOODEN POLICE BLOCKADES VARIOUS OF POLICE CAR NYPD SIGN ON POLICE CAR WIDE OF TIMES SQUARE WITH POLICE STATION PEOPLE TAKING PICTURES IN FRONT OF A POLICE CAR POLICE CAR POLICEMAN TALKING TO A PEDESTRIAN POLICE CARS IN TIMES SQUARE POLICE CAR AND POLICEMEN WALKING POLICEMAN LOOKING AROUND TRAFFIC POLICE POLICE CARS IN TIMES SQUARE POLICE CAR POLICEMEN TALKING
- Embargoed: 14th January 2017 21:11
- Keywords: crystal ball Times Square drop New Year's Eve New Year
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA0015F2SUOP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: It was the final test run before the big New Year's Eve countdown in Times Square.
The organizers of New York City's New Year's Eve event stood atop One Times Square, counted down, flipped the switch, and launched the world famous Times Square crystal ball rise 130-feet (40 meters) into the air.
Come New Year's Eve, more than one million people will come to Times Square to watch the crystal ball drop and mark the start of the new year.
"The test went well," said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, one of the organizers of the event.
"You really want to make sure that everything's right before the performance so this is our dress rehearsal, and the ball did brilliantly, if I may say so," he added
This year's star lineup for New Year's Eve festivities in Times square includes, among others, Mariah Carey, The Revelers, and Gavin Degraw.
Police have stepped up security in Times Square ahead of the event.
The NYPD have said will be multiple layers of security all over the city, with 65 sanitation trucks and over 100 blocker police vehicles to be placed around the Times Square perimeter to keep the New Year's Eve revelers safe. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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