NEW YORK, United States (Reuters) — The iconic Times Square New Year’s Ball Drop is just days away and final preparations were being made to the world famous Waterford crystal ball on Tuesday (December 27).
Workers installed the last of the 288 new sparkling Waterford crystal triangles. The new crystal triangles feature a new design for 2017 called the “Gift of Kindness”.
Tim Tompkins, the president of the Times Square Alliance explained. “The Waterford theme of the ‘Gift of Kindness’ is really perfect for this year. Because I think 2016 has been a tough year and it always hasn’t been kind. Just the larger events in the world. Things like Brexit, our divisive presidential election, debates in Europe about what to do with refugees. It’s been a tough year. So the theme of kindness on the small scale and on the large scale is really important. And I think it resonates in Times Square because Times Square is the ‘Crossroads of the World’. It’s a global celebration more than any other celebration.”
The “Gift of Kindness” theme is meant to symbolize unity in 2017.
“That is the theme of New Year’s Eve. It’s the theme of the Waterford crystals. It’s the theme of this globe behind me and hopefully the theme of the globe in 2017,” Tompkins added.
The custom-designed crystal triangles are built by Waterford artisans to withstand high winds, rain and cold weather.
The Times Square New Year’s Eve Waterford crystal ball measures 12 feet (3.7 meters) in diameter and weights 11,875 pounds (5,386 kilograms). It is covered in a total of 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles. Of the 2,688 crystal triangles, 288 will sparkle with the new “Gift of Kindness” design.
“You know it’s funny, when you are down in Times Square, it actually looks very small. But it is this very large symbol that the world connects to because I think it’s about a little bit of light in the midst of the darkness, this turning a corner and this mental reset we do when we want to turn the lights off and then turn them on a start anew,” suggested Tompkins.
On New Year’s Eve in New York, more than a million people are expected to gather together in Times Square to hail the arrival of 2017.
