New Year’s celebrations across the globe marked an end to a year that brought war in Europe, a new chapter in the British monarchy and global worries over inflation.
New York City ushered in 2023 with a dazzling Saturday night spectacle in iconic Times Square, anchoring New Year’s celebrations across the United States. The night culminated with a countdown as a glowing geodesic sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing almost six tons descended from its lofty perch atop One Times Square.
Its surface is comprised of nearly 2,700 Waterford crystals that were illuminated, officials said, by a palette of more than 16 million colors.
At the stroke of midnight, a ton of confetti rained down on revelers, glittering amid the jumbo screens, neon and pulsing lights.
Last year, a of about 15,000 in-person mask-wearing spectators watched the ball descend while basking in the lights and hoopla. Because of pandemic rules, it was far fewer than the tens of thousands of revelers who usually descend on the world-famous square.
Before the ball dropped, there were heavy thoughts about the past year and the new one.
“2023 is about resurgence — resurgence of the world after COVID-19 and after the war in Ukraine. We want it to end,” said Arjun Singh as he took in the scene at Times Square.
“New York City, I’m hoping it’s coming back and thriving after COVID,” a woman said before the festivities in Times Square.
New Year’s celebrations across the globe marked an end to a year that brought war in Europe, a new chapter in the British monarchy and global worries over inflation.
The new year began in the tiny atoll nation of Kiribati in the central Pacific, then moved across Russia and New Zealand before heading deeper, time zone by time zone, through Asia and Europe and into the Americas.
At least for a day, thoughts focused on possibilities, even elusive ones like world peace, and mustering — finally — a resolve to keep the next array of resolutions.
