• e-mail

New York’s Times Square erupted with fireworks and cheers at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday as thousands of hardy merrymakers braved pouring rain and watched the glowing New Year’s Eve ball complete its midnight descent to mark the start of 2019. 

A drenching rain didn't stop revelers from packing Times Square, with much of the crowd determined to have a good time as they waited hours Monday night for performers including Christina Aguilera, Sting and Snoop Dogg.

For the multitudes who gathered in the famed midtown Manhattan crossroads, the thrilling moment was reward for enduring hours of standing in a steady downpour during the waning hours of 2018.

The biggest cheers early on were for event workers handing out foam hats and blue gloves.

The Times Square party is always a marathon, with often cold temperatures, security rules, hours-long waits and a lack of public toilets. 

Veterans of the celebration said the rain wasn't all that bad.

'We're troopers. We got this,' said Nyia Williamson, 41, a self-described New Kids On The 'Block Head' who was at the party for the 11th time.

Rain, she said, is better than bitter cold.  

The ball drops on Tuesday, January 1, marking the new year in New York's Times Square

Fireworks explode at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday in New York's Times Square as revelers ring in the new year

Some 50,000 people were expected to attend the party in downtown Los Angeles late Monday night

The Boston skyline is lit up by fireworks on Monday as Bostonians celebrate First Night 2019

In Times Square in New York Ken Jeong rang in the new year with Nicole Scherzinger and Steve Harvey in torrential rain

Many donned plastic rain ponchos and sported colorful, oversized top hats handed out by organizers.

The soggy weather was in evidence as boy band New Kids On The Block splashed up puddles while performing their hit 'Step by Step' on a giant set of steps.

Vendors gouged the unprepared, charging up to $10 for ponchos that ordinarily sell for $2. 

At midnight, fireworks erupted over Times Square, couples kissed, families hugged and Auld Lang Syne played over loudspeakers.

"It was so awesome, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Colleen Giambrone, 55, of New Jersey. "Totally worth it, rain and all. It's incredible."

The Times Square party is always a marathon, with often cold temperatures, stringent security rules, hours-long waits and a lack of public toilets. But New Yorker Brie Dunn said being there "was like a true state of pure bliss and unity and love".

"It felt like there was no hate in the world," said the 22-year-old. "That's what I hope for in 2019 and all the years to come."

Spectator areas in and around Times Square started filling up late on Monday morning.

As always, the celebration took place under tight security, with partygoers searched at checkpoints and herded into pens ringed by metal barricades. 

A reveler adjusts her hat as she waits in Times Square in New York on Monday. Hundreds of thousands are expected to crowd into Times Square for the ball drop

Visitors to Times Square brave the heavy rain and cheer during the New Year's Eve celebration late Monday night

Security did not permit umbrellas so revelers had to make do with plastic bags and ponchos

Dan Smyers of Dan + Shay performs during the New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square late Monday night

This couple did the traditional kiss in New York's Times Square after the clock struck midnight, ringing in the new year

Frank Sinatra's hit song New York, New York played in the background after the ball dropped in Times Square

The NBC broadcast team of Leslie Jones (left), Chrissy Teigen (center), and Carson Daly celebrate the new year in style

Confetti falls on a reveler as he celebrates the New Year after the stroke of midnight in New York's Times Square on Tuesday

Darlene Freitas, from Ontario, Canada, center, and others stand in the rain as they take part in the New Year's Eve festivities in New York's Times Square

Although city officials initially expected some 2 million people, security experts said the real crowd size figure for the ball drop in Times Square is less than a quarter of that number

New York City canine police officers stand near revelers gathered in Times Square as rain falls

Revelers were not allowed to take the stick of their umbrella, so they had to resort to removing the canopy and wearing it as a hat

Hours before the ball drop, reams of confetti are released into the air in Manhattan's Times Square on Monday evening

Revelers came well prepared with ponchos, hats, and corporate-sponsored balloons at Times Square in New York City

The Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop was first inaugurated in 1907 by Adolph Ochs, who at the time owned The New York Times

Ochs organized the event as a vehicle to promote the fact that Times Square was the new headquarters for America's 'newspaper of record'

The rain failed to deter these revelers who gathered in Times Square to watch the ball drop and ring in 2019 late Monday

Prime viewing areas of the ball drop filled up in the early afternoon in New York's Times Square on Monday

New Kids On The Block perform during New Year's eve celebrations in Times Square in Manhattan on Monday

New Kids On The Block is an American boy band from Boston, Massachusetts. It enjoyed commercial success in the 1980s and 90s before disbanding

In 2007, the band reunited. Last year they launched a world tour. The band consists of brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood

In the true spirit of New Year's Eve, NKOTB's Donnie Wahlberg was joined on stage by his wife, Jenny McCarthy

The former model and television host plants a kiss on her hubby, Wahlberg, as the other band members look on

Singer Bebe Rexha is seen above performing in Times Square before the ball dropped on Monday night

Rexha capped the evening with a stirring rendition of John Lennon's Imagine

Television host Ryan Seacrest (center) and pop star Christina Aguilera (right) count down until the ball drop in Times Square on Monday night

Aguilera is seen above with her backup dancers and musicians during her live performance before the ball drop

The songstress gave an inspired performance, belting out her hits which topped the charts all over the world

Aguilera, the former Mickey Mouse Club star, was the headline act for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve broadcast

She opened with her debut single Genie in a Bottle before moving on to Come on Over, Can’t Hold Us Down, Ain’t No Other Man, and Fighter

Rapper Snoop Dogg was also one of the headline acts at Times Square during the New Year's Eve celebrations

Last year's party was one of the coldest on record at 10 degrees Fahrenheit. This year, the temperature was about 45 degrees at 8pm.

Spectators started assembling late Monday morning to await performers including Dan + Shay, Bastille and singer songwriter Bebe Rexha, who was to perform John Lennon's 'Imagine' just before midnight.

The final 60-second countdown happens as a geodesic sphere - 12-feet in diameter, covered with 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles and lit by 32,256 LEDs - drops down a pole. 

The numerals '2019' light up at midnight accompanied by pyrotechnics and the release of 3,000 pounds of confetti.

These revelers couldn't resist taking a selfie as the ball dropped and the clock struck midnight on Tuesday in Times Square

Times Square celebrates in style as the ball drops, ushering in 2019 in New York City early Tuesday morning

This youngster couldn't wait to toot his horn as the clock struck midnight and 2019 officially began in New York's Times Square

Piles of confetti, balloons, banners, and other paraphernalia are strewn on the pavement in Times Square on Tuesday

Visitors to Times Square enjoyed themselves while singing, dancing, and drinking the night way, welcoming in 2019

Revelers covered in ponchos embrace to keep warm as heavy rain fell all Monday evening in New York's Times Square

A number of out-of-towners said they came to Times Square for the ball drop in order to satisfy an item on their 'bucket lists'

Many donned plastic rain ponchos and sported colorful, oversized top hats handed out by organizers

As always, the celebration is taking place under tight security, with partygoers searched at checkpoints and herded into pens ringed by metal barricades

An American flag is seen above taped to a metal barricade in New York's Times Square early Tuesday morning

A New York City Police officer plays with a K9 Police Dog before the ball drop during New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square

Confetti sticks to a street sign in New York's Times Square on Tuesday. An estimated 3,000 pounds of confetti were dropped on Times Square late Monday into Tuesday

An NYPD officer is covered in confetti as he keeps watch over revelers in Times Square on Tuesday in New York

This guy donned a creative 2019 pair of see-through glasses as he enjoys the scene in Times Square late Monday

The image above shows the moment the clock strikes midnight, sending fireworks into the air to mark the official start of 2019

Much of the American public was only too happy to see 2018 come and go

This couple kissed after the ball dropped in Times Square early Tuesday morning

A Happy New Year hat lies on the wet ground along with other items following the celebration

Larissa Duke, a 22-year-old college student from Ontario, Canada, wrapped herself in a garbage bag and placed the top of an umbrella on her head to stay dry. 

Umbrellas were banned from the celebration for security reasons, so Duke had to discard the umbrella's shaft at a checkpoint.

'I was here last year and loved it so much I had to come again,' Duke said. 

'The energy here is really just what keeps you going.'

Justine Brenkel, 26, from Lyon, France, said being in Times Square on New Year's Eve was on her 'bucket-list.'

'It's unique. It's magic. It's New York,' she said - but the hours of waiting were turning it into a bit of a disappointment.

'When we watch it on TV, it looks so much fun, there's so much animation,' said Brenkel, who was attending the festivities with two friends. 

'But we're waiting for the show to start.'

As always, the celebration is taking place under tight security, with partygoers searched at checkpoints and herded into pens ringed by metal barricades.

 As the soggy wait for midnight dragged on, some people in the crowd grew grim.

"It was a massive mistake," Peter Walsh, 24, said of his decision to attend, after hours spent in the gloom.

Justine Brenkel, 26, from Lyon, France, said being in Times Square on New Year's Eve was on her bucket list, but the hours of waiting were turning it into a bit of a disappointment.

"When we watch it on TV, it looks so much fun, there's so much animation," she said. "But we're waiting for the show to start."

Moods lifted, though, as midnight approached.

The final 60-second countdown happened as a geodesic sphere - 12f (3.5m) in diameter, covered with 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles and lit by 32,256 LEDs - dropped down a pole. The numerals "2019" lit up at midnight accompanied by pyrotechnics and the release of 3,000lb (1,360kg) of confetti.

Asked what they were looking forward to in 2019, revellers spoke of new jobs, getting married and spending more time with their families. One said he would like to win the lottery.

Maryanne Clarke, 52, of Waterville, Ohio, said she was there to "celebrate the possibility of 2019", after a year in which she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a round of chemotherapy.

She her 14-year-old daughter, Shannon, joined the crowd in singing along as Rexha performed Imagine to close 2018.

"I bet we all want peace and harmony," Ms Clarke said. "I thought that was a perfect way into the new year."

Olympic figure skating medalist Ashley Wagner performs as part of the Boston Skating Club's skating demonstrations

Wagner, a native of California, won the silver medal at the 2016 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi

Members of the Boston Skating Club perform a skating demonstration as part of Boston's First Night 2019 celebrations

The Boston Skating Club know how to put on a show for the locals during First Night 2019 celebrations late Monday

Boston's First Night is an annual event featuring entertainment at Copley Square. It is a New England tradition dating back 40 years

It has been an eventful year in Boston, with the city's beloved professional baseball team, the Red Sox, capturing a World Series title

City officials said they expected an estimated 300,000 people to visit for the New Year's Eve celebrations

Thousands of police officers patrolled with the help of bomb-sniffing dogs, 1,225 security cameras and 235 'blocker vehicles' used to stop potential vehicle attacks. 

Police had planned to send up a drone to keep an eye on the festivities, but officials scrapped the flight due to the rain.

'It seemed like airport security,' said Lisa Carron, a 39-year-old preschool teacher also from Ontario. 

'That should keep us safe.'

Once people enter the security pens, they can't come and go. So every year, a few restaurants in the square make deliveries. 

The Times Square McDonald's sent employees out with trays and menus to take orders.

Carmen Diaz, one of the workers delivering food, yelled 'Happy New Year's' as she twirled on the sidewalk in a pink, cardboard fedora.

Husband and wife Bobby and Shivaraj Dhillon, from Watford, England, kept their spirits high by dancing to music playing over loudspeakers.

Our neighbors to the north also partied hard into the new year. People are seen above skating in the rain during New Year's Eve celebrations at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto

Rain could not extinguish the flame of love that was burning between Andre Mimura (left) and Thais Derycke (right) as they kiss under their ponchos in Toronto on Monday

Shivaraj said she had a serious medical operation this year and that she and Bobby are planning on starting a family soon, making this New Year's Eve a perfect chance to do something adventurous.

'This is probably up there with my wedding day,' Shivaraj said.

The Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop was first inaugurated in 1907 by Adolph Ochs, who at the time owned The New York Times. 

Ochs organized the event as a vehicle to promote the fact that Times Square was the new headquarters for America's 'newspaper of record'. 

This year, the Times Square Alliance, the business association that organizes the event, is paying a special tribute to press freedom as part of the festivities, after a year in which journalists have come under attack around the world, including in the United States.

A minute before midnight, an invited group of journalists from ABC News, NBC News, the Washington Post, Reuters and other outlets will join Mayor Bill de Blasio in pushing the button to initiate the ball drop.

As in past years, the New York Police Department screened people entering the corrals, deployed sharpshooters on rooftops and used radiation detectors throughout the event.

This handout photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau shows Gary Marion as drag queen Sushi, hanging in an oversized replica of a women's red high heel shoe over Duval Street on Monday

Duval Street in Key West, Florida is jammed with New Year's Eve revelers as Gary Marion, as drag queen Sushi, is lowered in a giant red high heel shoe on Tuesday

It had planned to use an aerial drone for the first time to monitor the crowds, but canceled the effort on Monday evening given the weather conditions.

The organizers chose to honor press freedom and the contribution of journalists partly because of the deadly hostility that some reporters have faced this year.

Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for the Washington Post and a U.S. resident, was killed inside a Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey. In June, a gunman shot dead five employees of The Capital, a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland.

This month also marked the first anniversary of the imprisonment in Myanmar of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and Buddhist civilians during an army crackdown.

While not quite having to brave Northeast-like weather conditions, it was expected to dip into the 40s in Los Angeles for the city's celebration. The image above shows Grand Park in downtown LA

Meanwhile, in Boston, hundreds of thousands were expected in Copley Square for the annual First Night New Year's Eve celebrations.

Musicians, skaters, and fireworks wowed the assembled crowd which braved heavy rains. 

Olympic figure skating medalist Ashley Wagner performed as part of the Boston Skating Club's skating demonstration on Monday.

Wagner, a native of California, won the silver medal at the 2016 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The First Night celebration is a tradition in New England. It was first inaugurated some 40 years ago.