Watch: New Year celebrations at Times Square in New York… and the ball drops

New York Times Square Ball Drop: The ball's surface was comprised of nearly 2,700 Waterford crystals.

New York City joined the glow of the new year with a dazzling night spectacle at the iconic Times Square. The night culminated with a countdown as a glowing geodesic sphere 12 feet (3.6 meters) in diameter and weighing almost six tons descended from atop One Times Square- the unmissable ball drop.

New York Times Square Ball Drop: People gather to celebrate the new year and await the ball drop, in Times Square, New York City.(AFP)

The ball's surface was comprised of nearly 2,700 Waterford crystals that officials said were illuminated by a palette of more than 16 million colors, AFP reported. At midnight, confetti rained on the people celebrating as they were seen amid neon lights.

Last year, a scaled-back crowd of about 15,000 mask-wearing spectators watched the ball because of pandemic rules.

New Year's celebrations also swept across the globe, ushering in 2023 with countdowns and fireworks as the world bid adieu to a year that brought war in Europe, a new chapter in the British monarchy and global worries over inflation.

The new year began in the tiny nation of Kiribati in the central Pacific, then moved across Russia and New Zealand before heading, time zone by time zone, through Asia and Europe and into the Americas.