New Years Celebrations Around The World

More than a million people were expected to crowd into New York City’s Times Square under heavy security yesterday to celebrate the arrival of 2016 with the traditional dropping of the New Year’s Eve crystal ball.

About 6,000 uniformed and undercover police officers, 500 more than past year, patrolled the area, with the force bolstered by mounted patrols, bomb-sniffing dogs, radiation detectors and hundreds of surveillance cameras.

An estimated 1 million people are expected to fill the square, and they will be protected by an armada of 6,000 police officers – some in civilian clothes, many heavily armed – as well as rigid security screenings around the perimeter of the party.

With memories of the deadly attacks in Paris and California still fresh, police took extraordinary measures to ensure security at an event that has come to define the NY experience for many visitors. Heavily armed officers carrying tactical rifles stood on almost every corner for blocks as police helicopters buzzed overhead after checking in on other parts of the city, including the World Trade Center and Statue of Liberty.

But as the 11,875-pound Waterford crystal ball descended, revelers counted down to 2016 before sharing hugs and their first kisses of the year under a blanket of confetti.

Providing the soundtrack for the iconic celebration will be Luke Bryan, Charlie Puth, Demi Lovato and Carrie Underwood.

But some in the crowd were jittery, admitting to being nervous to gather in such a famous location in the weeks after the Paris and San Bernardino attacks.

“We have the capacity here to take a celebration like this and to make sure it’s exceedingly safe”, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an interview with CNN. Just hours earlier Thursday, an ex-con was arrested in upstate NY for planning to carry out a New Year’s Eve attack at a bar to prove he was worthy of joining the Islamic State terror group. Here’s a look at the crowd this evening:There were no known credible threats against the city.

Organizers of this year’s event have said that they want theme of this year’s event portray the “wonderment, fantasy and optimism that nourishes the seeds of knowledge and achievement”.

A NY police officer uses binoculars to patrol from a rooftop along Times Square during New Year’s Eve celebrations, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, in NY. Other officers searched bags, at random, in subway stations. “I haven’t felt alarmed or afraid”.