Dec 30, 2008 7:44 am US/Pacific
Clintons Selected To Drop Times Square Ball On NYE
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The New Year's Eve Ball for 2009 is double the size of previous balls and 20 percent more energy efficient.
Countdown Entertainment, LLC
Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, will kiss 2008 goodbye on the world's biggest stage this New Year's Eve.
That's because Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the Clintons will have the honor of pushing the ceremonial button that signals the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball to begin lowering at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday night.
Bloomberg announced the selection on Tuesday morning.
"I can't think of anyone I would rather stand at the crossroads of the world at the beginning of this new year than Bill and Hillary Clinton," Bloomberg said. "Both together and as individuals, Senator and President Clinton have brought hope and opportunity to New York, to the nation, and to the world."
This year's Times Square Ball is double the size of previous balls and is covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals. Weighing nearly 12,000 pounds and measuring 12 feet in diameter, the ball is 20 percent more energy efficient than last year's – consuming only the same amount of energy per hour as it would take to operate two traditional home ovens.
Organizers of the New Year's Eve party say the bigger, brighter ball will remain in place all year atop the building at 1 Times Square to celebrate other holidays including Valentine's Day, the Fourth of July and Halloween.
As for the "2009" numerals that will light up upon the ball's descent, each numeral stands 7-feet tall and nearly 5-feet wide, and weighs about 500 pounds.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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