Before the Times Square ball drops to usher in 2026, organizers of the global spectacle test launched colorful confetti into the Crossroads of the World. 

The multicolored confetti was launched at 11 a.m. Monday from the Planet Fitness Center Stage at Broadway Plaza between 45th and 46th Street, in preparation for the 3,000 pounds of it that will fall on New Year's Eve. 

The confetti test drew a crowd of people braving the cold and rain to get an up close look at the action. 

"On December 31, we are breaking records here in Times Square. We are going to be releasing the most confetti ever, nearly three tons, and we got a taste of it here in Times Square today. We're gonna have purple and yellow at 10 p.m. We're gonna have our traditional multicolored confetti at midnight, and then to celebrate America's 250th anniversary year, red, white and blue," Jeffrey Straus, Times Square New Year's Eve executive producer, said. 

New Year's Eve Wishing Wall  

This year, as in the past, visitors could go to the New Year's Eve Wishing Wall to write their 2026 wishes on the confetti that will be released into the square when the clock strikes midnight.

Wishes can also be submitted to the Virtual Wishing Wall, but the Times Square Alliance says any submitted digitally at this point will be printed on confetti for next year.

Times Square ball will drop twice in 2026

New York has been ringing in the new year with a Times Square ball drop since 1907, and the celebration ushering in 2026 features the largest one yet.

It weighs more than 12,000 pounds and measures 12 and a half feet in diameter. It's adorned with 5,200 crystals and LED lights.   

Next year, for the first time, the ball will be raised again after midnight.

Organizers are planning another ball drop to usher in the 4th of July in celebration of the country's 250th birthday.

Good Riddance Day

The annual confetti test followed "Good Riddance Day,", a decades-old tradition when New Yorkers and visitors to Times Square said so long to whatever irked them most in 2025. 

It should come as no surprise that money matters topped the list for many people. 

"Debt," said Brittney Stokes of Harlem.

"I'm going to go with that one, too. I don't want to pay the money back, though. Just like, let it be free," added Dana Massey of Harlem.

Others said they'd like to find better jobs and avoid bad habits. 

"I'm saying goodbye to good riddance, doubt, and fear," said Carolina Arias, a visitor from Florida.

"Bad vibes and drama," Jason Anthony of the Bronx.

"How much I procrastinate doing stuff," said Aaliyah Gutierrez, who was visiting from Salinas, California.

For some, 2026 can't come soon enough.