The ball hath risen
Program Note: Don't miss our special coverage from Times Square tonight at 10 p.m. ET
Jim Spellman
CNN All-Platform Journalist
The show has begun in Times Square! The clock struck 6 p.m., trumpets blared, fireworks exploded and the famous New Year's Eve ball rose to its perch above Times Square.
At 12-feet in diameter it's twice as big as previous balls. It's covered in 2,668 Waterford crystals and weighs nearly 12,000 pounds. The 32,256 LED lights that cover it change color constantly.
This is my first time seeing it in person and I must say it is a bit underwhelming in scope. The ball sits above five giant video billboards for Budweiser, TDK and Toshiba.
The billboards dwarf the shiny bauble. It seems a bit like a prop from a different era, but it's it's pretty wild to think that in less than six hours millions of sets of eyes around the world will be focused on that sphere up in the sky above the New York night.
No backpacks in Times Square
Program Note: Don't miss our special coverage from Times Square tonight at 10 p.m. ET
Jim Spellman
CNN All-Platform Journalist
The crowds are really piling in here in Times Square. The revelers are ushered into individual viewing areas behind metal barriers. Each one of them holds about 2,500 people. It's a pretty good system. It's allows plenty of space between areas for the police, entertainers and media to move around.
As people arrive they are given a quick search and wanding with a hand-held metal detector. It is going pretty smoothly so far, though about one person in 20 seems to have broke one of the cardinal rules of New Years Eve in Time Square: NO BACKPACKS.
If you brought one you can't come in to the viewing areas. It's a little arbitrary, the police are letting in people with shopping bags and purses are OK but backpacks are a no-go.
But so far that seems to be the only hang up for partygoers here in Times Square.
Video: Keeping it clean, Kathy?
Kathy Griffin talks about co-hosting CNN's New Year's Eve special with Anderson Cooper.
Go here to see the video
Tweeting from Times Square
AC360°
Hey Everyone:
We're tweeting from Times Square tonight.
Follow tweets from all of us working on the New Year's Eve special - including Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin.
Follow Anderson @andersoncooper
Follow Kathy @kathygriffin
Follow AC360° Producer Jack Gray, @jackgrayCNN, who will be in Times Square tonight too.
Partying in Times Square - virtually
Mongolians Angel, left, and Ganzo, right, celebrating in Times Square.
Evan Buxbaum
CNN
Times Square, often referred to as the crossroads of the world, again attracts a global audience as New York City says goodbye to 2009 - and how you doin' to 2010.
From South Africans to Spaniards, Aussies to Alabamans, crowds of raucous revelers began filling snowy Times Square early Thursday morning. By 4:00pm the snow had mostly vanished and the roads surrounding the Square were closed to traffic. Spectators were directed by NYPD officers into various gated viewing sections that each hold crowds of approximately 2,500 partying people.
Two of the global celebrators amongst the hundreds of thousands are Ganzo and Angel from Mongolia. They're only in town for two days, and made the trip specifically for the New Year's Eve spectacle in Times Square. "Its very fun!" Exclaimed Angel. "We want to see Hollywood stars!"
Multiple celebrities and musicians are set to appear on various television networks' coverage of the ball drop, including Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin anchoring CNN's live New Years Eve special beginning at 10:00pm EST.
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