The Times Square ball will drop twice on New Year's Eve for the first time in the tradition's 118-year history, with a second patriotic celebration at 12:04 a.m. to mark America's 250th anniversary, America250 announced.
After the traditional midnight countdown, the newly unveiled Constellation Ball will be re-lit in red, white, and blue with a special America250 design. It will then rise and descend again, accompanied by 2,000 pounds (907 kilogrammes) of patriotic confetti and a pyrotechnic finale set to Ray Charles' rendition of 'America the Beautiful'.
