Times Square annual New Year’s Eve ball drop will be held virtually for all this year

Posted: Sep 30, 2020 / 05:43 AM EDT / Updated: Sep 30, 2020 / 05:43 AM EDT

FILE – In this Jan. 1. 2017 file photo, confetti falls as people celebrate the new year in New York’s Times Square. This year’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square will spotlight efforts to combat climate change when high school science teachers and students press the button that begins the famous 60-second ball drop and countdown to next year. “On New Year’s Eve, we look back and reflect on the dominant themes of the past year, and seek hope and inspiration as we look forward,” Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins said in a statement Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019 announcing the plan. He said the honorees “are working to solve this global problem through science.” (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK (WCBD) – This year the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square will be held virtually for all patrons.

For the first time in 114 years, the streets of Times Square will not be filled with the large crowds to watch the ball drop and bring in the new year.

In a statement by officials, they stated that although plans are still being discussed the ball drop will be held digitally no matter where you are, scaled back and socially distanced live elements still being determined, and a limited amound of in-person honorees will be in attendance.

Jeff Straus, President of Countdown Entertainment, said in the statement, “We will miss everyone this year but we will bring our celebration to you, whether you want to turn off and turn away from the bad news of 2020, or turn to the new year with a sense of hope, renewal and resolution, you’ll be able to join us virtually like never before as part of the Times Square 2021 celebration.”

As plans are finalized, more details will be released to the public overtime.