Confetti Test
Pedestrians stop to watch confetti fall as members of the Times Square Alliance perform an "air worthiness test" for the confetti that is similar to what will be used for New Year's Eve in New York December 29, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

New Year's Eve is in the air. In Times Square, the confetti is tested for its air worthiness.

Video Transcript:

The countdown to 2016 is in full swing in New York City's Times Square.

In preparation for the New Year's Eve festivities, confetti that will be used during the celebration was tested for its airworthiness.

Handfuls of the multicolored tissue paper were tossed from the Hard Rock Cafe marquee to see how it will whirl, float and flutter in the air before gently gliding to the ground.

Despite the rain, the confetti test stopped people in their tracks on a usually busy city street.

"We haven't tested in rain for a long time and if you saw, it flew beautifully. Even the wet weather can't keep that confetti from flying across Times Square," said Countdown Entertainment president Jeffrey Straus.

"Obviously we're having fun with the confetti test, but the confetti is a symbol of the celebratory aspect of New Year's, even when the year we've been through either personally or as a country or as the world, has had some tough spots. No matter what, we're going to celebrate," said Tim Topkins, president of the Times Square Alliance.

Some of the confetti will have New Year's wishes on them submitted in person in Times Square or online at the Virtual Wishing Wall, written by people from around the world and mixed in with the ton of confetti that will be tossed onto the crowd.

"When that blizzard of confetti is falling at midnight, you can reach into the sky and grab someone's wish," said Strauss.

On New Year's Eve, nearly 25 million pieces of confetti will be tossed by hand from rooftops onto an estimated crowd of one million revelers in New York City's Times Square.

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