THE NEW YEAR'S EVE BALL
Each
year, millions of eyes from all over the world are focused on the sparkling
Waterford Crystal Times Square New Year's Eve Ball. At 11:59 p.m., the
Ball begins its descent as millions of voices unite to count down the
final seconds of the year, and celebrate the beginning of a new year
full of hopes, challenges, changes and dreams.
The
"New" New Year's Eve Ball
On
October 4, 2007, the co-organizers of New Year’s Eve in Times
Square (Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment) unveiled
the new LED Crystal Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball at a press
conference at Hudson Scenic Studio in Yonkers, New York. 2008 year marks
the 100th birthday of the New Year’s Eve Ball, a universal symbol
of celebration and renewal.
The
new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is more than twice as bright
as the old one, with enhanced color capabilities and state-of-the-art
LED lighting effects. Waterford Crystal crafted a beautiful new design
for the crystal triangles on the Ball. Philips Lighting provided new
solid state lighting technology that substantially increased the brightness,
energy efficiency, and color capabilities of the Ball. And Focus Lighting
developed a spectacular and unique lighting design for the new Ball
on its 100th birthday.
“We
should all look this spectacular at our 100th birthday party”
said Jeff Straus, President of Countdown Entertainment, “The combination
of Waterford Crystal and Philips LED technology have created a dazzling
new look for this world-wide tradition of celebrating the New Year.”
“Times
Square has always been an arena where the latest and greatest cutting-edge
technology is unveiled and showcased. It’s also a neighborhood
that’s rich in tradition – from Broadway to Tin Pan Alley
to Restaurant Row,” said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times
Square Alliance, “and the New Year’s Eve Ball, like Times
Square, is an exciting blend of technology and tradition. This year,
the Ball has been re-envisioned and re-invented, just as Times Square
is constantly re-inventing itself. It’s that same spirit of renewal
and new beginnings that brings people here from across the globe, in
person or in spirit while watching from home, on New Year’s Eve
every year.”
VIDEO:
See the New Ball in Action!
Click
here for a New York Post video of the New Year's
Ball currently on display at Macy's Herald Square through December 10th.
Click
here to download video footage of
the new Ball in action as Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins
discusses the history of the Ball and the significance of the newest
version.
WATERFORD
CRYSTAL created an exclusive “Let There Be Light” design
for the crystal triangles on the new Ball. Designed and crafted by Waterford
artisans in Ireland, “Let There Be Light” features a dramatically
stylized, radiating sunburst on each of the 672 crystal triangles. Due
to the new design and technical innovations, this represents an increase
of 168 crystal triangles from last year’s Ball. And, for the first
time, the crystal triangles will feature cutting on both sides. The
double cutting maximizes the light refraction within the crystal triangles.
PHILIPS
LIGHTING provided the new solid state lighting technology for the Ball
resulting in an astounding increase in brightness, energy efficiency,
and color capabilities. The 9,576 Philips Luxeon LEDs replaced the 600
incandescent and halogen bulbs of the previous Ball. The new Ball is
more than twice as bright and capable of creating a palette of more
than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns. Yet, the entire
Times Square Ball will be lit with approximately the same amount of
electricity as it takes to power ten toasters or a single oven/range.
FOCUS
LIGHTING created a spectacular and unique lighting design that fully
leverages the brilliant facets of the Waterford crystal triangles and
Philips solid-state lighting technology. The lighting design skillfully
illuminates the beauty of each individual triangle as well as the colorful
moving patterns of light radiating from the Ball. In addition, for the
first time ever, Focus Lighting designed a second layer of LEDs to showcase
the geodesic structure of the Ball.
“Our
goal for this year’s re-design of the New Year’s Eve Ball
was to create a shining gem in the sky, equally stunning from various
distances,” says Focus Lighting principal lighting designer Paul
Gregory. “Working with these new lighting methods, combined with
the advanced crystal cutting technique, and the flexibility of the e-cue
control systems, we created a look that is vibrant and unique. This
year the Ball will be brighter and more brilliant then ever before,
each crystal gleaming like a diamond in the sky.”
The
companies listed below also provided essential contributions to the
development of the new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball:
Dickmann
Manufacturing – provided pyramid mirrors
E:Cue
Lighting Control – provided lighting control system
Hudson
Scenic Studio – structural engineering design and development
Landmark
Signs – assembles and operates the Ball
Lapp
Group – provided power and control cabling
L.E.D.
Effects – integrated LED technology
History of the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball
Revelers
began celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square as early as 1904, but
it was in 1907 that the New Year's Eve Ball made its maiden descent
from the flagpole atop One Times Square. This original Ball, constructed
of iron and wood and adorned with 100 25-watt light bulbs, was 5 feet
in diameter and weighed 700 pounds. In 1920, a 400 pound ball made entirely
of iron replaced the original.
The
Ball has been lowered every year since 1907, with the exceptions of
1942 and 1943, when its use was suspended due to the wartime "dimout"
of lights in New York City. The crowds who still gathered in Times Square
in those years greeted the New Year with a moment of silence followed
by chimes ringing out from One Times Square.
In
1955, the iron ball was replaced with an aluminum ball weighing a mere
150 pounds. This aluminum Ball remained unchanged until the 1980s, when
red light bulbs and the addition of a green stem converted the Ball
into an apple for the "I Love New York" marketing campaign
from 1981 until 1988. After seven years, the traditional Ball with white
light bulbs and without the green stem returned to brightly light the
sky above Times Square. In 1995, the Ball was upgraded with aluminum
skin, rhinestones, strobes, and computer controls, but the aluminum
ball was lowered for the last time in 1998.
For
Times Square 2000, the millennium celebration at the Crossroads of the
World, the New Year's Eve Ball was completely redesigned by Waterford
Crystal. The new crystal Ball combined the latest in technology with
the most traditional of materials, reminding us of our past as we gazed
into the future and the beginning of a new millenium.
About "Time-Balls"
The
actual notion of a ball "dropping" to signal the passage of
time dates back long before New Year's Eve was ever celebrated in Times
Square. The first "time-ball" was installed atop England's
Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. This ball would drop at one
o'clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely
set their chronometers (a vital navigational instrument).
Around
150 public time-balls are believed to have been installed around the
world after the success at Greenwich, though few survive and still work.
The tradition is carried on today in places like the United States Naval
Observatory in Washington, DC, where a time-ball descends from a flagpole
at noon each day - and of course, once a year in Times Square, where
it marks the stroke of midnight not for a few ships' captains, but for
over one billion people watching worldwide.
The Times Square New Year's Eve Ball 2000-2007
The
2000-2007 version of the Times
Square New Year's Eve Ball, designed by Waterford Crystal, made
its first descent during the last minute of the 20th century, at the
Times Square 2000 Celebration. The
Ball was a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, and weighed approximately
1,070 pounds. It was covered with a total of 504 Waterford crystal triangles
that varied in size and ranged in length from 4.75 inches to 5.75 inches
per side.
For
the 2007 New Year's Eve celebration, 72 of the crystal triangles featured
the new "Hope for Peace" design, consisting of three dove-like
patterns symbolizing messengers of peace. The remaining 432 triangles
featured Waterford designs from previous years, including the Hope for
Fellowship, Hope for Wisdom, Hope for Unity, Hope for Courage, Hope
for Healing, Hope for Abundance, and Star of Hope triangles. These crystal
triangles were bolted to 168 translucent triangular lexan panels which
were attached to the aluminum frame of the Ball. The exterior of the
Ball was illuminated by 168 Philips Halogená Brilliant Crystal
light bulbs, exclusively engineered for the New Year's Eve Ball to enhance
the Waterford crystal. The interior of the Ball was illuminated by 432
Philips Light Bulbs (208 clear, 56 red, 56 blue, 56 green, and 56 yellow),
and 96 high-intensity strobe lights, which together create bright bubbling
bursts of color. The exterior of the Ball featured 90 rotating pyramid
mirrors that reflect light back into the audience at Times Square.
All
696 lights and 90 rotating pyramid mirrors were computer controlled,
enabling the Ball to produce a state-of-the-art light show of eye-dazzling
color patterns and a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times
Square. The now-retired 2000-2007 New Year's Eve Ball is the property
of the building owners of One Times Square.
