Times Square to feature patriotic celebration for New Year's Eve and a special ball drop in July

""I'm telling you right now, whatever you're imagining, it's going to be much more than that,""

""It's going to be one for the ages, the most inspirational celebration this country and maybe the world has ever seen.""

""in the same beautiful style that Times Square knows how to do it,""

Times Square's New Year's Eve ball will sparkle in red, white and blue to usher in 2026 and begin nationwide celebrations for the United States' 250th anniversary. Patriotic touches at the Times Square gathering, including a second confetti drop, will preview hundreds of events and programs planned across the country to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence. America250 Chair Rosie Rios oversees the bipartisan commission created by Congress in 2016 to organize the semiquincentennial and coordinated changes with the Times Square Alliance and One Times Square. A second ball drop is planned for July 3, the first non–New Year's Eve ball drop in 120 years. Historical context notes the 1907 first ball, the 2023 Constellation Ball's size and the 1942–43 wartime dimouts when no ball drop occurred.

Read at ABC7 New York