Along with so many things, the pandemic has hit many of the go to the New Year’s traditions – no furious nightclubs, no dancing in person, no kissing strangers at midnight, not even the annual party you were reluctantly going to year after year.
But before you get rid of the night completely and go to bed at 11, here are a number of ways to celebrate the new year.
You can still see the ball fall.
This year, the crystal ball will still fall from One Times Square, the confetti will still fall and “Auld Lang Syne” will still ring – only Times Square itself will not be crowded with people.
“Many of Times Square’s beloved New Year’s Eve brands will be present,” said TJ Witham, a spokesman for the Times Square Alliance, a nonprofit neighborhood organization that helps orchestrate the night’s festivities. “That said, the event will be staged specifically for television and online audiences, and public revelers will not be present in Times Square.”
A live broadcast of the event starts at 6 pm Eastern Time at timessquarenyc.org, or you can watch it on most broadcast networks. Special performances and planned musical acts include Gloria Gaynor singing her signature song, “I Will Survive”.
According to the organizers, the night festivities will recognize those Americans who are helping us to overcome the pandemic – essential, frontline and emergency medical workers. Several of these workers will be the official “Special Guests” of the event – an honor granted each year to individuals representing “public service, resilience and the human spirit”.
The homage usually includes joining the mayor of New York on stage for the countdown to the final 60 seconds of the year. This time, the guests will see the ball fall from a private viewing area, physically distant.
Do you have a New Year’s wish? Submit yours on the Times Square Alliance’s virtual wall of wishes at timessquarenyc.org or on social media using #ConfettiWish. About 100,000 of those hopes and dreams will be printed on colorful confetti that will fall on Times Square when the clock strikes midnight.
You can still go to Times Square.
Just because you can’t see the ball fall in person does not mean that your personalized avatar cannot go in its place.
The Times Square Alliance and its partners organized a free and virtual experience in Times Square. After creating your avatar, you can take a selfie with the crystal ball, view digital art along Times Square square, take the elevator to the One Times Square observation deck, and play games like dancing or experiencing zero gravity . You can also collect commemorative confetti to dazzle your avatar as you go and, at midnight, an augmented reality fireworks show will pop on the screen.
To join the party, visit nye2021.com on your phone or tablet or download the free NYE app.
You can still get away.
Just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t travel the world and celebrate the New Year in other time zones.
Start in New Zealand at 6 am in the East, Wednesday, December 30, with a fireworks display at Auckland’s Sky Tower. So head to Seoul, South Korea, where the entertainment app Weverse is broadcasting a live show on New Year’s Eve 2021 with BTS, GFRIEND and other K-pop bands. The show starts at 7:30 am Eastern time, and ticket prices range from 48 to 72 Singapore dollars or about $ 36 to $ 54.
If you want fireworks again, a midnight light show in Rio de Janeiro on Copacabana beach starts at 10 pm East. Finally, if you haven’t had enough virtual travel yet, on Friday, January 1st, go to Vienna with a broadcast of the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic at 9 pm on PBS.