The America250 Times Square Ball event lowered the ball eight times for midnight in each U.S. time zone.
The special event extended the familiar Times Square countdown tradition beyond New Year’s Eve. Instead of marking only one midnight, the ball was lowered repeatedly so that communities in every U.S. time zone could celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence at their own local midnight.
The first drop occurred at 10 a.m. Eastern Time for the Chamorro Time Zone, which includes Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. A featured drop took place at midnight Eastern Time. The final drop occurred at 7 a.m. Eastern Time the next morning for the Samoa Time Zone, including American Samoa.
This was unusual because the Times Square Ball is chiefly associated with New Year’s Eve. The America250 event was a one-off Independence Day commemoration, held around July 3–4, 2026. The repeated schedule reflected the geographic spread of U.S. states and territories rather than eight separate anniversaries.