Hundreds of tourists, some wrapped in raincoats, clustered in a rainy Times Square on Monday afternoon to await the midnight descent of the illuminated ball that has marked the arrival of the new year in New York City for more than a century.
Christina Aguilera, New Kids on the Block and Sting were among the musical performers slated to entertain throngs filling the streets ahead of the ball drop, the focal point of New Year's Eve celebrations across the United States.
Steady rain is expected to hang over New York City into the new year, but photographs from Times Square indicate that the weather hasn't put a damper on the festivities.
'It was a bucket-list thing,' Daniela Ramous, a 34-year-old sales manager from McAllen, Texas, told Reuters.
'You grow up watching it on TV, you see all the excitement. There's something magical about New York during this time of year.'
Hundreds of revellers have flocked to Time Square on New Year's Eve to watch the ball drop at midnight, despite particularly soggy conditions in midtown Manhattan on Monday
Umbrellas have been banned as part of strict security measures in the area, forcing attendees to take cover from the rain in flimsy plastic ponchos. However, the weather doesn't appear to have dampened holiday spirits
By 7am Eastern police had already lined Times Square with barricades, assembling the temporary corrals where revelers will be confined for the festivities.
The National Weather Service was forecasting a low of 45 degrees Fahrenheit and heavy rain from midafternoon to early morning.
Umbrellas were banned amid tight security, police said, reflecting concern over the possibility of random attacks. That did not faze the huddled masses in Times Square.
'My boyfriend's coming and he's bringing us garbage bags, so we'll put those over ourselves,' said 21-year-old Annika Clary, a dancer from Vancouver, Canada, who was counting down to 2019 with her sister. Plastic ponchos were allowed, with street vendors selling them for up to $10 on nearby avenues.
The New York Police Department was screening people entering the corrals, deploying sharpshooters on rooftops and will use radiation detectors throughout the event.
It will also use an aerial drone for the first time to monitor the crowds. Manhole covers will be sealed up in case anyone is tempted to use the sewers to sidestep security.
New York City police started setting up barricades at 7am Monday as crowds began to form
NYPD officers have been screening people as they enter corralled areas, and sharpshooters have been positioned on rooftops to watch for any potential security breaches
Even before police began setting up barricades, visitors were already gathered in groups, some chatting, others napping on piles of coats, ahead of an hours-long marathon of standing in roughly one place, with no access to public restrooms.
They were all there for one reason: to watch a giant ball drop from a pole on top of the narrow building at the crossroads of Broadway and 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan, a tradition that began in 1907.
James and Sharon Knox, 62 and 61, traveled to Times Square from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, after watching the ball drop on television for decades and always saying they would go the next year.
'Next year came, next year came, and finally this year it did happen,' said James Knox, who retired from R.J. Renolds Tobacco Co. 'It's probably been a 25-year 'next year' thing, but we got it.'
The current ball, in use since 2008, is a glittering, LED-studded sphere made by Waterford Crystal and Philips Lighting.
Weighing 11,875 pounds and measuring 12 feet in diameter, it sits year-round on the roof of One Times Square, the one-time headquarters of the New York Times at the head of the blocks-long plaza.
A woman wearing celebratory 2019 glasses smiles along the edge of one of the corralled areas as people pack in behind her on Monday afternoon in Times Square
NYPD officers assemble during their patrol of Times Square as the sun sets on New Years's Eve
The current ball, in use since 2008, is a glittering, LED-studded sphere made by Waterford Crystal and Philips Lighting. Weighing 11,875 pounds and measuring 12 feet in diameter, it sits year-round on the roof of One Times Square, the one-time headquarters of the New York Times at the head of the blocks-long plaza
A minute before midnight, journalists - including NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, an ABC News reporter and the Washington Post's opinion editor - will join Mayor Bill de Blasio in pushing the button to initiate the ball drop.
This year, the Times Square Alliance, which promotes local businesses and organizes the event, has chosen to honor press freedom after a year in which journalists and media organizations have come under attack around the world, with US President Donald Trump often decrying some reporters as 'the enemy of the people'.
The Times Square Alliance chose to honor press freedom and the contribution of journalists partly due to the deadly hostility that some reporters have faced this year.
Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for the Washington Post and US resident, was killed inside a Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey. In June, a gunman shot dead five employees of The Capital, a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland.
This month also marked the first anniversary of the imprisonment in Myanmar of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo for investigating how the country's security forces killed members of its Muslim Rohingya minority.
Time magazine also dedicated its 'Person of the Year' honor to journalists killed and persecuted around the world, including Khashoggi, Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Philippine journalist Maria Ressa and the Capital Gazette victims (clockwise from top left)
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https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/01/times-square-gears-up-for-soggy-new-years-eve-as-umbrellas-are-banned-and-rain-slams-nyc/
Main photo article Hundreds of tourists, some wrapped in raincoats, clustered in a rainy Times Square on Monday afternoon to await the midnight descent of the illuminated ball that has marked the arrival of the new year in New York City for more than a century.
Christina Aguilera, New Kids on the Block and Sting...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/31/23/8000454-6543057-image-m-7_1546299088598.jpg
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