NEW YORK- The year of canceled or scaled-back events and virtual celebrations will continue to the very last day of 2020.
The iconic New Year’s Eve party in Times Square will go virtual this year, organizers announced Wednesday.
While the ball will still drop, ushering in the New Year, everything else will look a lot different.
Organizers say it will be a “virtually enhanced celebration,” with a small, scaled-back live event associated with the usually crowded holiday party.
“One thing that will never change is the ticking of time and the arrival of a New Year at midnight on December 31st,” said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance, which co-produces the event with Countdown Entertainment. “But this year there will be significantly new and enhanced virtual, visual and digital offerings to complement whatever limited live entertainment or experiences – still in development -- will take place in Times Square.”
Keeping old traditions alive has been a battle for many event organizers in New York City, and the rest of the world.
The famed Thanksgiving Day Parade will also be scaled back this year, and recorded over a two-day period without the crowds that normally line the streets to watch it.