Marsalis New Year's Guest Of Honor
Workers from city agencies that joined in the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, along with New Orleans jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, will serve as the guests of honor at the annual New Year's Eve bash in Times Square.
Dick Clark will be hosting the event in his first TV appearance since his stroke last December.
Clark won't be in a wheelchair when he appears on ABC's "New Year's Rockin' Eve," says co-host Ryan Seacrest.
"I'm not a doctor and I'm not his wife so I don't see him on a daily basis, but he will not be in a wheelchair on the telecast," Seacrest told AP Radio in a recent interview.
Marsalis, who now serves as artistic director for Jazz at Lincoln Center, will join representatives of the city fire, police, corrections and emergency management departments in pressing the button that will drop the ball at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced.
"I am grateful to Mayor Bloomberg for giving me the opportunity to show that in this season of renewal, the people of the gulf region will rebuild and rejoice once again," said Marsalis, who organized one of the major fund-raising shows for New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Highlights of the New Year's Eve program televised worldwide to an estimated 1 billion people include fireworks after the ball is lighted and raised at 6 p.m., and as well as performances by singers Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey.
About five minutes before the ball starts dropping, the crowd of hundreds of thousands will hear the world premiere of a song written for Univision Television Network's World Cup 2006 soccer coverage, performed by artists Ana Barbara, Pablo Montero, Mariana Seoane and Anais.
Bloomberg, in making the announcement in Times Square, said the city workers would represent all New York residents who pitched in to help the residents of New Orleans. About 1,000 city employees helped in the Katrina aftermath, the mayor said.
"On New Year's Eve, we will honor not only the work of hundreds of police officers, firefighters, correction officers and emergency managers, but everyday New Yorkers who responded in the aftermath of Katrina," Bloomberg said.
Last year, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell was the guest of honor for the 100th anniversary of the gala. Past guests of honor have included Muhammad Ali and the late Christopher Reeve.
The New Year's Eve ball counts down the last 60 seconds of the year. The 6-foot wide ball weighs 1,070 pounds and is festooned with 504 crystal triangles.
Meanwhile, in the self-christened "Little Apple" — Manhattan, Kansas — the Midwestern college town will host a smaller version of the new year's ball drop, to be broadcast on the Fox News Channel. Last year, the event drew about 9,000 spectators.
"I'm very pleased to be able to report that our celebration and ball drop will be a lot more family-friendly than the one in New York," said Kate Watson, a co-founder of the event. "We'll have everyone from grandmothers to grandchildren in the crowd."