USA-TIMES SQUARE/CONFETTI TEST Ahead of New Year's Eve, the confetti air-worthiness test in Times Square

Record ID: 858133

  • Title: USA-TIMES SQUARE/CONFETTI TEST Ahead of New Year's Eve, the confetti air-worthiness test in Times Square
  • Date: 29th December 2014
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 29, 2014) (REUTERS) CONFETTI BEING TOSSED FROM BUILDING MEMBERS OF ALADDIN CAST TOSSING CONFETTI PEOPLE TOSSING CONFETTI MORE OF ALADDIN CAST TOSSING CONFETTI (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIM TOMPKINS, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT, SAYING: "You gotta make sure that it's been properly cut so they all break out separately. You have to make sure that they are air worthy and they float up as well as down. There are these crazy wind patterns in New York City and especially on 42nd Street. So they were going up, down and sideways and it was great. It was flying almost as well as the magic carpet in Aladdin." MORE CONFETTI (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIM TOMPKINS, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT, SAYING: "It is literally a ton of confetti and so it's millions of pieces. And they are dropped by hand from the tops of buildings around Times Square. But the most special thing, as you see behind me, they have people's wishes written on them. Wishes for the new year. It's confetti wishes that they've been filling out yesterday. Alone in Times Square, four thousand people filled out wishes on pieces of confetti and you can also do it online at TimesSquareNYC.org." MORE CONFETTI IN THE AIR (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAROLYN VARGAS, TOURIST FROM OKLAHOMA, SAYING: "It's amazing! It's absolutely incredible! We're from Oklahoma, so this just doesn't happen there." (SOUNDBITE) (English) SHARON, TOURIST FROM PENNSYLVANIA, SAYING: "We're celebrating New Year's Eve today!" (SOUNDBITE) (English) CAROLYN VARGAS, TOURIST FROM OKLAHOMA, SAYING: "Happy New Year!" MORE CONFETTI IN THE AIR KIDS PLAYING WITH CONFETTI CONFETTI ON THE SIDEWALK
  • Embargoed: 13th January 2015 12:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAC24YRVV845K0DW5OD304H6VRR
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  • Story Text: It floats and flutters in mid-flight. The confetti to be used in the Times Square New Year's Eve celebration was tested on Monday (December 29).
    Over the heads of hundreds of delighted people in Times Square, thousands of pieces of confetti were tossed into the air.
    The confetti was tested to make sure it was fit for the year-end festivities.
    "You gotta make sure that it's been properly cut so they all break out separately. You have to make sure that they are air worthy and they float up as well as down," explained Tim Tompkins, the president of the Times Square Alliance.
    He added, "They were going up, down and sideways and it was great. It was flying almost as well as the magic carpet in Aladdin."
    This year, the cast of Aladdin helped with the air-worthiness test. Aladdin is the sponsor of the Times Square New Year's Eve confetti wishes said Tompkins.
    "The most special thing, as you see behind me, they have people's wishes written on them. Wishes for the new year."
    On the 42nd Street sidewalk, it appeared the confetti test was a success.
    "It's amazing! It's absolutely incredible! We're from Oklahoma, so this just doesn't happen there," said Carolyn Vargas.
    "We're celebrating New Year's Eve today!" said Sharon from Pennsylvania.
    On New Year's Eve, about a ton (907 kilograms) of confetti will be tossed onto an estimated crowd of one million revelers in New York City's Times Square.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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