The first America250 Times Square Ball lowering occurred at 10 a.m. Eastern Time for the Chamorro Time Zone.
The special Times Square program used the ball to recognize midnight in each of the eight U.S. time zones. Because New York City is in Eastern Time, midnight in the western Pacific’s Chamorro Time Zone occurred much earlier on the New York clock.
The Chamorro Time Zone includes Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Their local midnight therefore corresponded to 10 a.m. Eastern Time, making it the earliest lowering in the planned sequence.
The event continued through additional time zones, including a featured midnight in Eastern Time and a final lowering for the Samoa Time Zone on the following morning. The 10 a.m. time refers to the first ceremonial lowering, not the traditional New Year’s Eve schedule.