Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Times Square as the countdown to New Year's Eve begins, and a man at the front of the live show reveals how he relieves himself while waiting in line.
It's expected that a million people will see the ball drop in person and another billion will watch on TV.
The crowd has been building all day, rushing to get closer to the event stage to get the best view of the ball.
Video post on TikTok shows crowds waiting since 5am to get past police barriers. A man at the front of the pack revealed his secret to going to the toilet while waiting in line.
'Do you see these pads? You have to pee in these sanitary towels. It doesn't matter who you are,” said the man wearing an orange jacket and a Kiss hat.
One million people are expected to see the ball drop in person in Times Square and another billion people are expected to watch on TV
The crowd has been building up all day, rushing to get closer to the event stage to get the best view of the ball
'If you leave and need to go to the toilet or even get water, that's the problem. '
He said, “Whatever you decide to do, you have to make the best of it.”
The celebrity-packed event will include live performances from Flo Rida, Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J, as well as television appearances from Cardi B and others.
Organizers said in-person attendance is expected to return to pre-coronavirus levels, even as foot traffic around Times Square remains down slightly since the pandemic.
CNN will air Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen's New Year's Eve specials. This will be the seventh year that Cooper and Cohen have organized the spectacle.
In addition to CNN, anchors from other major networks will also broadcast live from Times Square, where the protests threaten to reach.
ABC's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest is co-hosted by Rita Ora – featuring artists such as LL Cool J, Megan Thee Stallion, Jelly Roll and Sabrina Carpenter.
Celebrations in Times Square began at 6 p.m., when the six-ton crystal ball will be lit and raised. At 11:59 p.m., the ball begins its one-minute fall in front of hundreds of thousands of cheering partygoers.
Cable networks are preparing for the worst as they fear their plans for live broadcasts on New Year's Eve will have to change if disorderly pro-Palestinian supporters take over Times Square.
Anti-Israel protesters threaten to derail the December 31st celebration in the Big Apple.
The NYPD is pulling out all the security stops in view of the potential for violence on the streets of New York City. Protests have been taking place in the city since Hamas brutalized Israeli civilians, sparking a conflict in the Middle East on October 7.
Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference Friday that “there are no specific threats to the city,” but “as we saw last year, after not having any specific threats, we are going to have a threat, and we will be ready for it .'
Megan Thee Stallion performed at the Times Square New Year's Even 2024 Celebration in Times Square
He was referring to the fact that three officers were attacked by a Maine man, 19, with a machete on December 31, 2022, over US support for Israel.
Assistant NYPD Commissioner Kaz Daughtry stated on December 29, “We will have tow trucks strategically parked along the actual New Year's Eve festivities, and we will have drones deployed around the outer perimeter so that we can see the protests, potential protests that are coming in real time.”
Adams added: “Hundreds of thousands of people will be queuing here, and no matter how many times we see it, you never get used to it, the excitement continues again and again.”
Times Square will be locked down from around noon on New Year's Eve and anyone wishing to enter the area must pass through police and security checkpoints.
Homeland Security and the FBI will be in Times Square, along with state police, mounted police and canine units.