Here’s how to live-stream the Times Square New Year’s Eve festivities for free online — no TV required — including the iconic ball drop and performances by Bebe Rexha and Lovelytheband.
The six-hour New Year’s Eve live-stream from New York City will be available free worldwide on mobile devices and the web, including at TimesSquareNYC.org and TimesSquareBall.net. In addition, it will be live-streamed free on Facebook (at facebook.com/TimesSquareNYC) and Twitter (at twitter.com/TimesSquareNYC). Coverage kicks off on Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. ET and runs through the midnight ball drop.
The Times Square New Year’s Eve event, co-produced by the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, will be hosted again by TV and radio personality Allison Hagendorf with correspondents Andrea Boehlke and Jeremy Hassel. The live stream, powered by Vimeo’s Livestream division, is set to include the hourly countdowns, ball-raising ceremony, stage performances and special guests, culminating in the descent of the crystal ball atop the roof of One Times Square.
The evening’s lineup is slated to include musical performances by Bebe Rexha (“Meant to Be,” “Me, Myself & I,” “I’m a Mess” and John Lennon’s “Imagine”) and alt-pop band Lovelytheband (“Broken,” “These Are My Friends” and “Maybe, I’m Afraid”).
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For TV specials on New Year’s Eve, other artists and musical acts scheduled to perform in Times Square include Christina Aguilera, Bastille, New Kids On The Block, and Dan + Shay on ABC’s “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest”; Sting, Snoop Dogg and Robin Thicke on Fox’s “New Year’s Eve with Steve Harvey”; and Mau & Ricky and Paulina Rubio on Univision’s “¡Feliz 2019!”
This year, the Times Square New Year’s Eve event will officially celebrate journalism and press freedom by honoring the Committee to Protect Journalists as its official charity honoree. Several journalists will be invited on the Times Square main stage at midnight, joining New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and CPJ executive director Joel Simon to push the button that triggers the lowering the Waterford Crystal Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball and the 60-second countdown ringing in 2019. Those scheduled to participate include ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, NBC News’ Lester Holt, CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, Fox News Channel’s Jon Scott, the Washington Post’s Karen Attiah, Wall Street Journal’s Matt Murray, Time’s Edward Felsenthal, the New York Times’ Rebecca Blumenstein.
“Americans are united in their belief that press freedom and independent journalism are at the heart of our democracy,” Simon said in a statement. “At CPJ, we are humbled to represent the journalists who bring us the news each day. We are inspired to #CelebratePressFreedom on New Year’s Eve and throughout the year ahead.”
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