You can visit Times Square on New Year's Eve without any of the crowds this year—thanks to VNYE.
That's right, you don't have to wear a diaper and stand in a mass of tourists or brave the cold. You can see the ball drop and experience all the lights all virtually. VNYE provided a digital space for revelers last year for the 2020 New Year's Eve in Times Square event since it was off-limits due to the pandemic. It's being revived this year, when traveling to Times Square is more difficult and the NYE celebration requires proof of vaccination.
"We created VNYE to amplify the New Year’s Eve experience and keep the world connected to Times Square when physical access was limited," said Michael Phillips, the president of Jamestown, which owns One Times Square and launched VNYE. "In its second iteration, VNYE will both complement the return of in-person celebrations and serve as a destination in its own right—an immersive virtual world where people from across the globe can gather to celebrate the New Year."
Last year, VNYE reached more than 3.7 million people worldwide.
So what exactly can you do in this virtual world? There are three immersive games—Dance World, where you can show off your dance skills; Nature World, where you can be surrounded by nature landscapes and do a scavenger hunt, and Zero G, where you can travel around the globe through a slide experience, visiting an array of the world’s landmarks while earning power-ups and points along the way.
And starting December 31, you can choose from 11 live camera feeds in Times Square and seven EarthCam live streams of New Year’s Eve celebrations from around the globe, including in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Budapest, Hungary. At midnight on New Year’s Eve, you'll ring in the new year in the Times Square metaverse with a virtual Ball Drop Celebration and fireworks show.
The VNYE app will be available to download in app stores starting December 18, 2021, with livestreams starting December 31. For more information, visit VNYE.com and follow along at @onetimessquarenyc.
