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New Year’s Eve Will Still Rock In Times Square, Even Without A Live Audience

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There will be no massive crowds, but plenty of music will still be on tap for New Year’s Eve in Times Square. Using a combination of television and streaming, the show will go on despite the pandemic restrictions against huge gatherings.

Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, the co-organizers of Times Square New Year’s Eve, today announced that singer-songwriterAndra Day will headline the live, commercial-free webcast and TV pool feed. 

Day will perform her Grammy Award-nominated single Rise Up, as well as her song Forever Mine. Day will also continue the New Year’s Eve tradition of singing John Lennon’s Imagine just before the Ball Drop Celebration to count down the final seconds to the new year. 

The co-organizers of the event said the official Times Square New Year’s Eve event lineup will feature live performances by Gloria Gaynor, Pitbull, Anitta, Jennifer Lopez, Billy Porter, Cyndi Lauper, Jimmie Allen, Machine Gun Kelly, The Waffle Crew, and USO Show Troupe, as well as an array of special activities and appearances that will happen throughout the evening.

The six-hour, live commercial-free webcast will begin at 6:00 PM ET with the lighting and raising of the New Year’s Eve Ball atop One Times Square. The webcast will include musical performances by Andra Day, Gloria Gaynor, Anitta, Pitbull, the USO Show Troupe, and The Waffle Crew.

Jamestown, owner of One Times Square, home of the iconic Ball Drop Celebration, has created a virtual New Year’s Eve experience. Everyone can start the festivities today and enter a virtual world of Time Square filled with games, music, and art.

Then, on December 31st, viewers can tune in for a live broadcast where they can choose from multiple camera feeds to direct their own New Year’s Eve show. Plus, viewers will also get a chance to see other celebrations from around the globe, and hear messages from local leaders and people from dozens of cities from around the world.

Visit www.VNYE.com for more information and download the NYE app to join the live celebration on New Year’s Eve.

Times Square 2021 LIVE performances on the Planet Fitness and Countdown Stages:

• Jennifer Lopez performs on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest”
• Billy Porter performs on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest”
• Cyndi Lauper performs on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest”
• Jimmie Allen performs on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest”
• Machine Gun Kelly performs on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest”
• Anitta performs on Univision’s, “¡Feliz 2021!”
• Pitbull performs on Univision’s, “¡Feliz 2021!”
• Andra Day performs her hit songs “Rise Up” and “Forever Mine,” as well as John Lennon’s “Imagine” just before the Ball Drop at midnight
• Gloria Gaynor performs her hit songs “I Will Survive,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” and “Joy Comes In The Morning.”
• The Waffle Crew presented by Planet Fitness provides an amazing dance performance
• The USO Show Troupe performs “Empire State of Mind,” “Stars And Stripes” and “A Military Salute” to honor our Armed Forces

For 116 years, Times Square has been the center of worldwide attention on New Year’s Eve, ever since the owners of One Times Square began in 1904 to conduct rooftop celebrations to greet the New Year. The first Ball Lowering celebration occurred in 1907, and this tradition is now a universal symbol of welcoming the New Year.

Actor and TV personality Jonathan Bennett, star of the Hallmark Holiday film The Christmas House and Mean Girls, and host of the Food Network’s Halloween Wars and Holiday Wars, will return to the celebration as Times Square New Year’s Eve Host.

The 12^th annual webcast will cover the action and festivities in Times Square, beginning with the Ball Raising at 6 p.m. ET, plus live musical performances, hourly countdowns, behind-the-scenes stories, and star-studded interviews as anticipation builds towards the midnight countdown and the famous Ball Drop. The custom-designed embeddable video provides viewers with a full Times Square New Year’s Eve experience.

All participants will remain masked at all times except when performing and will adhere to distancing regulations throughout the production site. Additionally, all Special Guest families, who are included in the capacity limits for the production, will be staged within their personal household safety areas to ensure proper distance from other participants.

How to Watch

The Times Square 2021 Webcast will begin at 6 PM ET on December 31, 2020 and end at 12:15 a.m. ET on January 1, 2021. The show will be streamed live on multiple websites, including TimesSquareNYC.org, NewYearsEve.nyc, Livestream.com/2021, and TimesSquareBall.net.