The Times Square Ball dropped eight times for America250 across U.S. time zones.
The special America250 celebration used a sequence of eight drops to mark midnight in each U.S. time zone. The earliest occurred at 10 a.m. Eastern Time for the Chamorro Time Zone, which includes Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The final drop occurred at 7 a.m. Eastern Time the following morning for the Samoa Time Zone, including American Samoa.
This was distinct from the traditional New Year’s Eve ball drop. A special one-off anniversary edition took place on July 3, 2026, counting down to midnight on July 4, the semiquincentennial date.
The event highlighted U.S. states and territories across a broad geographic span. Eight refers to the number of time-zone countdowns, not the number of balls, locations, or nights of celebration.