Atlanta is the United States city famous for dropping a giant peach at midnight on New Year's Eve.
The Atlanta Peach Drop is a major annual celebration in Georgia's capital and draws its identity from the state's nickname, the Peach State. A large illuminated peach is lowered during the countdown, creating a local counterpart to the ball drop in New York City.
The event began in 1989 and was originally held in Underground Atlanta. Its location and operating arrangements have changed over time, and some years have involved cancellations or alternative formats. Those changes do not alter the defining feature: a peach is the central countdown object.
The celebration is sometimes confused with other fruit-themed events or with Atlanta's annual festivals at different times of year. The peach is specifically a New Year's Eve symbol in Atlanta. Georgia's peach imagery is also used in sports, business, and tourism, but the Peach Drop refers to this midnight celebration.