Times Square ball goes red, white and blue for America's 250th birthday

Summer Times Square ball drop to celebrate America's 250th birthday Times Square will host a summertime ball drop on July 3, the eve of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, America250 chair Rosie Rios said Friday. (Credit: WNYW) This year's crystal ball in Times Square drop to celebrate 2026 will feature a patriotic touch for America's 250th birthday . The ball will sparkle in red, white and blue to usher in the new year and kick off months of celebrations for the nation’s birthday. And a second confetti drop will happen at 12:04 a.m. on New Year's Day, America250 chair Rosie Rios told Fox News. The iconic ball drop in Times Square is one of the biggest and most watched events on New Year's Eve, which typically sees up to 1 million people packing the area, sometimes in frigid temperatures. A second ball drop event is being planned for July 3, the eve of the nation's birthday, "in the same beautiful style that Times Square knows how to do it," Rios said. It will mark the first time in 120 years there will be ball drop in Times Square that doesn't occur on New Year's Eve, she said. TOP AUTOMAKER UNLEASHES 250 LIMITED-EDITION CORVETTES INSPIRED BY AMERICA'S FOUNDING America250, One Times Square, and Times Square Alliance Reveal Ball Designed in Honor of Nation’s Semiquincentennial Year (AP) The celebration will come ahead of months of big and small events to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. "I’m telling you right now, whatever you’re imagining, it’s going to be much more than that," said America250 Chair Rosie Rios, who oversees the bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2016 to organize the semiquincentennial anniversary, told The Associated Press. "It's going to be one for the ages, the most inspirational celebration this country and maybe the world has ever seen." The group worked with the Times Square Alliance business district and One Times Square , the building from where the ball is dropped, to make the changes to this year's ceremonies. UFC WHITE HOUSE PLANS REVEALED, INCLUDING WEIGH-INS AT LINCOLN MEMORIAL: REPORT A patriotic crystal ball will be used for the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square to usher in 2026, months ahead of America's 250th birthday. (AP) The ball drop has occurred in Times Square nearly every year since 1907. The only years when no ball drop occurred were 1942 and 1943, when New York City instituted a nightly "dimout" during World War II to protect itself from attacks. In addition to the ball drop, America Gives, a national service initiative created by America250, which launch at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1. American250 will participate in the New Years Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California , with a float themed "Soaring Onward Together for 250 Years." President Donald Trump has also announced the "Freedom 250" initiative to coordinate additional events for the 250th anniversary. Rios said a wide range of...

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