The Times Square Ball was lowered eight times for America250’s midnight celebrations across U.S. time zones.
The special schedule connected the famous New York City ball-drop tradition with the 2026 semiquincentennial. Instead of marking only one midnight, the ball was lowered for each of the eight U.S. time zones during the anniversary celebrations.
The sequence began with the Chamorro Time Zone, covering Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, and included a highlighted midnight in Eastern Time. The final lowering corresponded to the Samoa Time Zone and American Samoa on the following morning in Eastern Time.
This event was separate from the standard annual New Year’s Eve ball drop. It was created as a special America250 observance, with the patriotic display linking the anniversary to communities across U.S. territories as well as the 50 states.