With This New Year’s Ball Drop, 2025 Offers Changes in One Times Square

Details

Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Interviews

Published on Sunday, 29 December 2024 09:29

Written by Brad Balfour

Jeffrey Straus, Sherri White, Joy Mangano

It’s that time of the year again, and the time to make my encounter with The Ball. For a number of years now, I have made my nod to the New Year by writing a preview story before the advent of New Year’s Eve and the New Year’s Day to come.

For more than 100 years, One Times Square and the world-famous New Year’s Eve Ball have been shining markers for the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square. Said Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris in a press announcement, “This year’s Ball reveal will keep that tradition alive and make this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration the best one yet.”

Though I had made the pilgrimage to the Ball in the hope of getting some quotes from hit-making rapper Pitbull, but that was not to be. He was there to lend his support since he was a CleanBoss co-founder with Joy Mangano.

Said Magano, “As the official cleaning partner of the Times Square ball drop, we created CleanBoss for the underdogs — the parents, house cleaners, janitors, and countless unsung heroes who rely on cleaning products every day and deserve safer, better solutions. Our powerful products are here to prove that you don’t need harsh chemicals to be extremely effective. So, to the dedicated cleaning crews who hit the streets at midnight to clean up after the celebrations – we thank you.”

She added that for her and Pitbull, who had to leave early for another event, “We’re honored to stand on the world’s biggest stage, kicking off a healthy new year…”

Following this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration, the Ball and Numerals will be retired and displayed at One Times Square as part of the new Times Travel immersive museum experience, opening in 2025. A new Ball and Numerals will be raised for next year’s celebration.

In a conversation had with Sherri White a marketing exec for Jamestown, the owner of One Time Square explained that, “We are going to open the building next year. We started renovation in 2022 and after several years, we’re going to invite the public into the building in a meaningful way.

“There will be a museum telling the story and the history of the ball, the building and Time Square. And then there will also be a viewing deck and you’ll be able to get a crystal VIP ticket as well. You’ll be able to come up to the ball, the new ball, and change out a crystal and take it home with you. 

So I asked for further details about these new ones. Added White: “The new ones were made by Gillinder, which is a New York-based glass manufacturer over many generations.”

“As opposed to Waterford?” I mentioned.

“Yes, as opposed to Waterford. Waterford hasn’t been our sponsor of the crystal for a few years, but they had done the crystals [for a long time]. These are all new. Everything is new from Gillinder. And again, Gillinder is a New York company. It was not easy to find somebody that would make these crystals because they’re handmade. So we finally found Gillinder. They make things like the glass that covers the bulbs on an airplane. They make, in the MTA, glass covers on light bulbs. We went and visited them and asked whether they could make these. And, in under two weeks, they made them all. We were really, really happy with them. They were just amazing.

And you have a partnership with Jameson?

Acknowledged White, With Jameson, St. Patrick’s Day was falling on a Sunday, so what do you do on a Sunday? The night before around 8 p.m. that was the time that it was midnight in Ireland. So we started this last St. Patrick’s Day, and the ball glowed green. We lit the numerals, which we had never done before. Then we lowered the ball at that point. We started celebrating from that point on. They had an activation down in Times Square and took over all the signs. It was really a fun, fun activation with them.

“We now have our website up,onetimessquare.com. Two S’s for sure. But if you fail to put the second S in, it still gets you there. You can make reservations for tickets when we open next year in August. You can make a reservation for our vow ceremonies, whether it’s wedding, vow renewals, promise pledges, proposals. Yep, on the 15th floor. 

“So you’re going to have a crystal for us?” 

White agreed “I will. I could. We took them off the ball this year and gave them out to the public last week. I’m sure we saved a few and can make something available. You’re going to get one of the crystals we took off that’s been on the ball since like 2007. These are the new ones, so we could also provide a new one, the E or the Post and Ball.”

But that wasn’t the end of my time upstairs, 27 flights up. I turned to Jeffrey Straus, executive producer of the Times Square New Year’s Eve event we all see live on TV. I asked him to tell me about some things that make this year different from last.

Strus replied, “Well, this year we replaced all 2,688 crystal triangles on the ball with two new patterns. The one times square design, which is deep, long, linear cuts with a circle at the top representing the iconic building where the ball drops each year, as well as our new crystals, which consists of three pairs of interlocking rings surrounded by diamond facets, providing a jewel setting for the letter E, which stands for ever, which is going to be the new destination for vow ceremonies opening right here at One Times Square in 2025.”

So, tell me what’s different about this year’s show? Struas replied, My gosh. Every year we bring in great entertainment. This year we’ve got everyone from Carrie Underwood, Megan Moroney, TLC, Sophie Ellis-Baxter, the Jonas Brothers, Mark Ambor, GRACEY, De La Ghetto, Kapo, and best of all, Mickey Guyton singing ‘Imagine’ at midnight for everyone watching.”

“Will you be singing with them?

“Oh, I sing every year. And I will say one other new thing in 2025 that I think is important is.. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and only those like you and me get to come up here. But next year, they’re opening up the Times Travel Museum, and visitors from around the world can come to Times Square and actually come up and visit with my best friend here, The Times Square Ball, put a crystal on it, and actually get a chance to interact and get that picture with them.”

• < Prev
• Next >