Which New Year's Eve event in New York City drops a 12-foot Waterford crystal ball at midnight?

The Times Square Ball Drop is the New Year’s Eve event in which a large crystal ball descends at midnight in New York City.

The modern ball is 12 feet, or 3.7 metres, in diameter and is covered with Waterford crystal panels. It is lowered from a flagpole atop One Times Square during the final minute of December 31, creating the countdown image seen around the world.

The first Times Square ball drop took place in 1907, when a ball made of iron and wood was used. The current illuminated ball is much larger and more technologically elaborate than its predecessors. The event is commonly called the ball drop, while “New Year’s Eve in Times Square” refers more broadly to the entire public celebration.