The Times Square Ball was lowered eight times for the America250 Giving 4th celebration.
The special event was designed to count down to July 4, 2026, across the United States’ time zones. Unlike the traditional Times Square Ball drop, which occurs once around New Year’s Eve, the America250 program used repeated drops so different parts of the country could mark Independence Day midnight at locally relevant times.
The event was announced as the Giving 4th Broadcast Benefit Show and took place around the transition into Independence Day. The eight drops corresponded to the U.S. time zones represented in the celebration, beginning with the Chamorro Time Zone and ending with the Samoa Time Zone.
This was an unusual expansion of a tradition that began in 1907. The Times Square Ball normally signals the start of a new calendar year, so the America250 event was notable for adapting the object and countdown format to a national anniversary rather than New Year’s Eve.