The Times Square Ball was lowered eight times during America250’s 2026 celebration.
The special event connected the semiquincentennial countdown with the United States’ time zones. Rather than lowering the ball only once at midnight in New York, organizers lowered it eight times to mark midnight in each U.S. time zone. The earliest lowering occurred at 10 a.m. Eastern Time for the Chamorro Time Zone, while the final one occurred the following morning for the Samoa Time Zone.
This format made the event different from the usual Times Square Ball Drop, which is traditionally associated with New Year’s Eve. The 2026 observance was a special one-off edition held around July 3 and July 4. Eight refers to the number of U.S. time zones represented in the event, not the number of times the ball normally drops during an annual New Year’s celebration.