时代广场倒计时前夕



People from around the world waited in New York's Times Square to welcome 2010.

The last day of 2009 started with snow and very tight security. But tourist Diane Drano wasn't deterred:"We're from El Paso Texas, and I've been waiting here since about 7:30 this morning!!!"

Rebelto Cruise is visiting from Puerto Rico:"New York is the center of the universe. It's such an, like I say, once in a while, once in a life time to do that."

Up to one million people are expected to be here when the famous ball drops, and over a billion people worldwide are expected to watch the bash on television and online.

4:00pm：狂欢者聚集

新年夜下午，狂欢的人潮从四方涌来，集结在曼哈顿，而到4点左右，时代广场“领结”地区（第42街至第47 街，百老汇大道与第七大道间的区域）将变身为一片欢乐的海洋。在纽约警察的指引下，人群会被分散至各个不同的观赏点，当夜幕降临，狂欢者的欢笑声将布满整 个时代广场并随百老汇大道及第七大道一路向北延伸至中央公园。

6:00-6:03pm：亮灯并升起水晶球

伴随闪亮着璀璨光芒的水晶球徐徐升至时代广场的至高点，新年夜狂欢庆典拉开序幕。

 

时代广场新水晶球

For 2010 Waterford Crystal has designed a new sparkling "Let There Be Courage" triangle. The crystals feature a unique interlocking ribbon pattern woven into the Celtic knot. The triangles, each about 3/8" thick and 6.8 ounces in weight are custom made and built to exacting standards to withstand the stresses of high winds, precipitation and temperature fluctuation that exist over 400 feet above Times Square.

今年顺应着节能的势头，水晶大球也被换成了LED灯，直径3.66米，上面镶有2668颗水晶。灯面上有连结丝带的图样，象征着今年的主题：“勇气（Let There Be Courage）”。

水晶球倒计时历史

Revelers began celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square as early as 1904, but it was in 1907 that the New Year's Eve Ball made its maiden descent from the flagpole atop One Times Square.

早在1904年，狂欢者就开始在时代广场庆祝新年的到来了，但是第一次有水晶球从通过旗杆从时代广场上方落下是在1907年。

The first New Year's Eve Ball, made of iron and wood and adorned with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs, was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds. It was built by a young immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, and for most of the twentieth century the company he founded, sign maker Artkraft Strauss, was responsible for lowering the ball.  

第一个跨年球是由铁和木头制作的，里面安装了一个25瓦的灯泡，直径5英尺，重达700磅。这个跨年球是由一位名为Jacob Starr年轻移民金属工人制作的。而在20世纪的大部分时间中，这位移民所创建的公司，Artkraft Strauss标牌制作公司，一直负责水晶球的降落活动。

As part of the 1907-1908 festivities, waiters in the fabled "lobster palaces" and other deluxe eateries in hotels surrounding Times Square were supplied with battery-powered top hats emblazoned with the numbers "1908" fashioned of tiny light bulbs. At the stroke of midnight, they all "flipped their lids" and the year on their foreheads lit up in conjunction with the numbers "1908" on the parapet of the Times Tower lighting up to signal the arrival of the new year.

作为1907-1908庆祝活动的一部分，著名的“龙虾宫（lobster palaces）”和时代广场周围其他豪华餐馆的服务生都纷纷戴上装饰有1908字样小灯泡的装有电池的帽子。在午夜敲响钟声的那一刻，他们都纷纷“打开 帽子开关”，他们额头上的小灯和时代塔（Times Tower）栏杆上点亮的1908字样交相呼应，迎接着到来的新的一年。

The Ball has been lowered every year since 1907, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943, when the ceremony was suspended due to the wartime "dimout" of lights in New York City. Nevertheless, the crowds still gathered in Times Square in those years and greeted the New Year with a minute of silence followed by the ringing of chimes from sound trucks parked at the base of the tower - a harkening-back to the earlier celebrations at Trinity Church, where crowds would gather to "ring out the old, ring in the new."

从1907年开始，每年都会举办水晶球降落的活动，只有1942和1943年由于战争原因在纽约实行“半灯光管制”时例外。不过，在那些年中，人群仍然在 时代广场聚集，静默片刻，接着在塔基部停着的一辆广播车发出教堂内谐音钟的声音。这和早期时的三位一体教堂庆祝方式不谋而合，在早期的教堂中，人们也是这 样聚集起来“用钟声辞旧迎新。”

One Times Square: 时代广场一座——时代广场最高的一栋摩天大楼。

 

历史水晶球

In 1920, a 400 pound ball made entirely of wrought iron replaced the original. In 1955, the iron ball was replaced with an aluminum ball weighing a mere 200 pounds. This aluminum Ball remained unchanged until the 1980s, when red light bulbs and the addition of a green stem converted the Ball into an apple for the "I Love New York" marketing campaign from 1981 until 1988. After seven years, the traditional glowing white Ball with white light bulbs and without the green stem returned to brightly light the sky above Times Square. In 1995, the Ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, strobes, and computer controls, but the aluminum ball was lowered for the last time in 1998.

1920年时，原始材料的水晶球被一个重达400磅，完全由锻铁制成的新型水晶球取代。1955年，铁球由重量只有200磅的铝球代替。这个铝球一 直用到1980年代，当时这个主要由红色灯装饰，其中还点缀有绿色灯做成大苹果的形状，从1981年到1988年一直为“我爱纽约”活动助阵。7年后，纽 约时代广场的夜空中又恢复了传统的白色水晶球。1995年，水晶球又进行了更新换代，加了铝制表面，水钻，频闪灯，还有计算机控制，但是到了1998年就 不再使用铝球了。

 

For Times Square 2000, the millennium celebration at the Crossroads of the World, the New Year's Eve Ball was completely redesigned by Waterford Crystal. The new crystal Ball combined the latest in technology with the most traditional of materials, reminding us of our past as we gazed into the future and the beginning of a new millenium.

2000年，在时代广场这个世界的十字路口，跨年球被沃特福德水晶东西重新设计。新的水晶球结合了最新的科技和最传统的材料，提醒人们在迎接新千年时，回顾历史，放眼未来。

2000-2007的水晶球

The 2000-2007 version of the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, designed by Waterford Crystal, made its first descent during the last minute of the 20th century, at the Times Square 2000 Celebration.

2000-2007的纽约时代广场跨年水晶球是由沃特福德水晶公司设计，在20世纪的最后一分钟，在时代广场的2000庆祝活中首次下落。

The Ball was a geodesic sphere, six feet in diameter, and weighed approximately 1,070 pounds. It was covered with a total of 504 Waterford crystal triangles that varied in size and ranged in length from 4.75 inches to 5.75 inches per side.

这个球是一个网格球，直径6英尺，重约1070磅。表面装饰有504颗形状大小各不相同（水晶每面长度为4.7英寸到5.75英寸不等）的沃特福德水晶三角形。

For the 2007 New Year's Eve celebration, 72 of the crystal triangles featured the new "Hope for Peace" design, consisting of three dove-like patterns symbolizing messengers of peace. The remaining 432 triangles featured Waterford designs from previous years, including the Hope for Fellowship, Hope for Wisdom, Hope for Unity, Hope for Courage, Hope for Healing, Hope for Abundance, and Star of Hope triangles. These crystal triangles were bolted to 168 translucent triangular lexan panels which were attached to the aluminum frame of the Ball. The exterior of the Ball was illuminated by 168 Philips Halogená Brilliant Crystal light bulbs, exclusively engineered for the New Year's Eve Ball to enhance the Waterford crystal. The interior of the Ball was illuminated by 432 Philips Light Bulbs (208 clear, 56 red, 56 blue, 56 green, and 56 yellow), and 96 high-intensity strobe lights, which together create bright bubbling bursts of color. The exterior of the Ball featured 90 rotating pyramid mirrors that reflect light back into the audience at Times Square.

2007 年的跨年活动中，72个水晶三角形代表了新的“和平之希望（Hope for Peace）”的设计。保留的432个三角形代表了沃特福德前几年的设计，包括友谊之希望，团结之希望，勇气之希望，恢复之希望，丰裕之希望，以及希望之 星三角。水晶球的内部装有432盏飞利浦卤素灿烂水晶灯炮（208盏透明灯，56盏红色灯，56盏蓝色灯，56盏绿灯，56盏黄灯组成），特别为加强沃特 福德水晶而设计，此外还有96盏高密度闪光灯，更能制造出梦幻色彩。水晶球表满有90个旋镜组成，能将光反射到时代广场中，让观众欣赏。

All 696 lights and 90 rotating pyramid mirrors were computer controlled, enabling the Ball to produce a state-of-the-art light show of eye-dazzling color patterns and a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square. The now-retired 2000-2007 New Year's Eve Ball is the property of the building owners of One Times Square.

所有696盏灯和90 个旋镜都是由计算机控制的，能够让水晶球产生艺术美感的色彩和图案。这颗退役的2000到2007年跨年水晶球现在由One Times Square Plaza的大楼业主所有。

2008年水晶球

The new Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is a 12 foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous Balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds.  Covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS, the new Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square.

新的时代广场跨年水晶球是高12英尺的网格球体，是2007年水晶球高度的两倍，重约11,875磅。新水晶球覆盖着2,668颗沃特福德水晶，采用飞利浦公司的Luxeon Rebel LED背光源灯，能够在时代广场上空发出1600万种醒目的颜色，变幻出数十亿种瞬息万变的颜色，如万花筒般绚丽多彩。

60秒倒计时

11:59pm：60秒倒数计时

纽约市市长彭博（Michael R. Bloomberg）和参与时代广场2010新年庆典的特邀嘉宾将按下启动水晶球降落的沃特福德水晶按钮，在杜菲广场（Duffy Square）的新年倒计时舞台上，带领大家一同欢呼60秒倒计时。

2010新年到

午夜：欢庆2010年到来

2009年12月31日午夜，美国纽约市时报广场如往年一样迎来数以万计民众。

定格2009年12月31日23时59分(北京时间2010年1月1日12时59分)，当午夜钟声响起的时候，雨雪纷飞，难减人潮狂欢激情；水晶球降落，音乐伴烟花点亮新年，闪亮的“2010”照彻整个时代广场。