What is the name of the New Year's Eve countdown event in New York City's Times Square?

The New Year's Eve countdown event in New York City's Times Square is the Times Square Ball Drop.

The ceremony centers on a large illuminated ball descending from One Times Square during the final minute before midnight. At the moment it reaches the bottom, the new year begins in New York's Eastern Time Zone. The event is commonly shortened to “the ball drop.”

The tradition began on December 31, 1907, welcoming 1908. It quickly became an annual public spectacle, and radio and television later carried the celebration far beyond Manhattan. Millions of viewers worldwide now associate the countdown with the bright sphere, the numerals of the new year, confetti, and the gathered crowd.

The ball drop is one part of the larger Times Square celebration. Performances, celebrity appearances, security restrictions, and attendance rules can change from year to year, but the midnight descent remains the event's defining ritual.