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3:47
To ring in the new year in Times Square you have to be vaccinated
The mayor of the city Bill de Blasio said that the Big Apple has a lot to celebrate this year.
One of the largest gatherings in the world to welcome the New Year takes place in Times Square, in the American city of New York, which this year will be resumed after the Covid-19 pandemic, and where thousands of people expect to see descend the emblematic crystal ball and give your partner a long kiss, as is tradition.
However, entering the place to celebrate will not be so easy. To be present at this spectacular event, you must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or present a test with a negative result for this disease, carried out 72 hours before going to the place where thousands of people congregate each year.
This is what the mayor of the city, Bill de Blasio, knew, who explained that attendees over 5 years of age must comply with this requirement; He was also pleased that this celebration is resumed this year, so he said that he wants the city to have a great New Year's Eve celebration.
He also recalled that the American metropolis has gone through many difficulties in recent months, not only in the fight against COVID-19, but also problems such as floods and blackouts, for which he ratified that this year there is much to celebrate, and it will be a great time for Times Square.
For his part, the president of Times Square, Alliance, Tom Harris, added that "those who have not been able to receive the inoculation due to a disability may show a recent negative test".
He also said that the New Year's celebration in Times Square is essential to finally achieve the reopening of the city in the tourism field. He added that the number of people passing through the place has increased 50% in recent weeks.
The news of resuming the celebration in this emblematic place has returned happiness to locals and visitors to the Big Apple, since last year, the farewell to the year was suspended for the first time in 113 years due to the pandemic, and people had than settling for a virtual holiday.
The authorities last year promised that in 2021 people would meet again in Times Square, and everything indicates that they will fulfill their promise, yes, only those vaccinated or with a negative test for Covid-19, as I already mentioned.
114 years of celebration
This year, we welcome the New Year in Times Square up to 114 years of celebration. The idea for this event came from the owners of The New York Times newspaper, who began the festivities in 1904 at the top of the emblematic building.
The founder of the newspaper, Adolph Ochs, that year had a set of fireworks on the roof, with this he was not only welcoming a new year, but also celebrating that the newspaper a day later would move its offices to Times Square.
However, it was not until 1907 when the large illuminated sphere began to be used, and the celebration was officially established. At that time the ball weighed about 317 kilograms, with a diameter of one and a half meters that symbolizes the change of date.
Today, the mythical ball has more than 2,668 crystal triangles, illuminated by more than 32,256 LED lights of red, green, white and blue colors, forming an incredible palette of 16 million colors. The sphere currently has a weight of 5,386 kilograms.
The celebration in the place has been suspended three times: in 1942 and 1943 as a result of World War II, and in 2020 due to the pandemic.
