LIVE: Ahead of New Year’s Eve, a Confetti Test in Times Square

Okay, here we go. Welcome everybody. Yeah, we're here for our annual confetti test and I am so happy to be here with Tom Harris from the Times Square Alliance, Sherry White from One Time Square and Jamie Madero from Planet Fitness and her family who are going to help us lead this confetti countdown to 2025. Is this good? Can you guys hear me down there? Oh, can we get a little volume on the mic? Are we good? Much better because this is a very important day. Today is a great day to test confetti. People ask us why we test confetti. It's because it's fun but also because in just two days we need to be ready when the eyes of the world will be focused on us here in Times Square as we count down those final seconds to the new year as the ball descends and as the clock strikes midnight, the numerals 2025 light up at Times Square and the sky is filled with a blizzard of colorful confetti. We're going to test it here today so we're ready to start 2025 strong. Yeah, we're going to need all your help. We're going to count down like it's just before midnight. Five, four, three, two, one and then we are going to say happy new year. That confetti is going to fill the sky. So our first step here though, it's very important. Guys, you ready? We got it. We got to fluff. We got to fluff that confetti because we want to avoid confetti clumping which does not look good and if it's properly fluffed that's beautiful. I'm going to fluff some over here. Okay. Okay, everybody grab a handful of confetti. People don't realize that all the confetti in Times Square is dispersed by hand. Are we ready up here? Yeah. Are we ready down there? Here we go. Five, four, three, two, one. Happy new year. Whoa, look at that confetti go. Let's get some more confetti out there. Come on guys. Here we go. Oh my golly. Oh, we need some wind in Times Square. We need some more wind. Everybody breathe heavy. Here we go. We're going to do it one more time. Are you guys ready over there? We're going to try it again. We need that confetti to really lift. We got to get the heat going here in Times Square. Are we ready? We're ready. Five, four, three, two, one. Happy new year. Confetti is twisting and turning, but where's it going? Okay, we're going to have to adjust to our confetti. Get some confetti going here. That's what we're going to do. We're adjusting. So, this is why we test our confetti. We're going to adjust. You guys got your shots because we're going to throw this way. Okay. Yeah. Okay. You guys are looking good out there. Okay. On December 31st, we have 100 confetti dispersal team people who by hand do the same thing we're doing today on these rooftops that fill the sky. There's 3,000 pounds of confetti and it's filled with tens of thousands of people's wishes. I encourage all of you to write your confetti wish before you leave today at the wishing wall. Here we go. You guys ready again? Okay. We're going to test it on from the west. Here we go in five, four, three, two, one. Happy new year. It's twisting. It's turning. It's heading downtown. Hey, that's confetti. Whoa, it's overpowering. Wow. Okay. Oh my god. Oh, we are ready for 2025. Okay. We're going to do this again. This is going to be so much fun. Everybody get ready with some big handfuls. We have a great lineup this year here in Times Square. We've got everybody coming to perform from Carrie Underwood to the Jonas Brothers, Megan Maroney, Sophie Ellis-Bextor is going to be here. You can't hear me? Help me out there guys. Okay. Is that better? Okay. Here we go. We've got a great lineup in Times Square. I'm going to give you a sneak preview. We've got everybody from Carrie Underwood to Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Megan Maroney, the Jonas Brothers, Mark Amber, Mickey Guyton, Gracie, De La Ghetto, Taco, and Rita Ora, specially provided by Planet Fitness. And then Mickey Guy is going to be singing Imagine at Midnight right before the ball drops. And we do what? We test our confetti because we have a blizzard of confetti. Ready everybody? Yeah. Here we go. Count like it's December 31st. Five, four, three, two, one. Holy cow. It's heading down Broadway. Okay. Wait a minute. Oh my God. Fun fact about confetti. When we, you know, we not, we only started having confetti in Times Square in 1992 New Year's Eve. And when we first told NYPD that we wanted to release confetti above the square, they told us that we had to be circle shaped because squares had points at the end and they were worried that it would get in somebody's eyes. And at the time I laughed, I know they were right now. I know, but it's safe. It's safe. It's fun. Here we go. We're going to do it one more time. We're gathering our confetti. If you can pull some off the street and help us, I or me, there's plenty out there. My golly. And I want to put a shout out to the Times We're aiming for you. Let us know how it goes. And I got to do a shout out to the Times Square Alliance sanitation crew in New York City. Sanitation. We're going to clean all this up for us. I have to tell you, my wife hates when we practice at home. Here we go. We're ready. Here we go. Are you guys ready? Here we go. Five, four, three, two, one. Happy New Year. Holy. It's working. It's like it's listening to us. That's beautiful. It's twisted. It's turning. Oh my golly. It is a cyclone of confetti at Times Square. Get in there. I love confetti, and I love watching you guys try to grab one. Every year at midnight when the confetti is falling, filled with everybody's wishes, and you see the confetti hoping in someone's wishes on it, and every once in a while I'll grab a wish. And what's amazing is over the last 30 years, everyone's wishing for the same thing. We all want good health, good jobs, success for our family, and peace on earth. And it's just a beautiful thing to see that in 50 different languages that people write from all over the world. So we're going to go this way this time. Are we ready? Confetti here. By the goodness. Okay. Here we go guys. Five, three, two, one. This is for you. Confetti's misbehaving. Oh my golly. I am wading through confetti. I don't even have to go to the bottom. I know, but I try and then the wind pushes it back right in my face. Okay. Oh my gosh. We are ready to start 2025 strong. Here we go. You guys got that way. You guys got that way. I got you guys. Here we go. All together. Let's do it strong. Five, four, three, two, one. Oh, look at it go. You guys got the right there. It's a blazer. Oh my God. I cannot thank you all so much for coming out to help us test the confetti. Thank you. Oh my golly. It's amazing time. Next year, by the way, one time square is opening its doors. I want to make sure that I have, what's your name?