NEW YORK — As New Year’s Eve descends upon New York City, the iconic Times Square celebration will take on a special hue this year. The famed ball will illuminate the night sky with red, white, and blue, heralding the arrival of 2026 and marking the beginning of a series of events celebrating America’s 250th birthday.

This year’s festivities in Times Square will offer a preview of the grand celebrations to come, featuring patriotic elements and a second confetti drop. These are just a taste of the multitude of events and programs planned across the nation to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Rosie Rios, Chair of America250, the bipartisan commission established by Congress in 2016 to orchestrate the semiquincentennial anniversary, is brimming with enthusiasm. “I’m telling you right now, whatever you’re imagining, it’s going to be much more than that,” Rios commented. “It’s going to be one for the ages, the most inspirational celebration this country and maybe the world has ever seen.”

Rios and her team have collaborated with the Times Square Alliance and One Times Square—the building from which the iconic ball descends—to integrate these patriotic touches into this year’s ceremony. Additionally, an unprecedented second ball drop is scheduled for July 3, on the eve of Independence Day, promising to deliver the same vibrant spectacle Times Square is renowned for.

This will mark a historic first for Times Square, as it will be the only instance in 120 years when a ball drop will occur on a date other than New Year’s Eve, according to Rios.

A New Year’s Eve ball was first dropped in Times Square in 1907. Built by a young immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, the 700-pound (318-kilogram), 5-foot- (1.5-meter-) diameter ball was made of iron and wood and featured 100 25-watt light bulbs. Last year, the Constellation Ball, the ninth and largest version, was unveiled. It measured about 12 feet (3.7 meters) in diameter and weighs nearly 12,000 pounds (5,400 kilograms).

The only years no ball drop occurred were 1942 and 1943, when the city instituted a nightly “dimout” during World War II to protect itself from attacks. Crowds instead celebrated the new year with a moment of silence followed by chimes rung from the base of One Times Square.

This year, the stroke of midnight will also mark the official launch of America Gives, a national service initiative created by America250. Organizers hope to make 2026 the largest year of volunteer hours ever aggregated in the country.

On the following day, America250 will participate in the New Years Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, with a float themed “Soaring Onward Together for 250 Years.” It will feature three larger-than-life bald eagles representing the country’s past, present and future.

“We want to ring in this new year from sea to shining sea. What better way to think about it than going from New York to California,” Rios said. “This has to be community-driven, this has be grassroots. We’re going from Guam to Alaska, from Fairbanks to Philadelphia, and everything in between.”

President Donald Trump has also announced the “Freedom 250” initiative to coordinate additional events for the 250th anniversary.

Rios said she sees the wide range of celebrations and programs planned for the coming months, from large fireworks displays and statewide potluck suppers to student contests and citizen oral histories, as an opportunity to unite a politically divided nation.

“If we can find something for everyone … having those menus of options that people can pick and choose how they want to participate,” she said. “That’s how we’re going to get to engaging 350 million Americans.”