PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 News was there on top of the Penn Avenue Place building on Thursday afternoon when Highmark conducted their final test run for their annual First Night.
Crews suspended the ball 75 feet into the air high above the city kicking off 2024.
“I’m glad everything worked perfectly today,” said Neil Parham the director of corporate giving for Highmark.
Officials said it takes weeks of preparation to get the 1000-pound ball in place. The most critical is checking the lights, more than 1000 LED bulbs cover the sphere forming the shape of the city’s three rivers.
“It was great to be here to preview it, to get a sneak preview of the ball going up,” Parham said.
Officials said that the ball rising is a spectacular sight to see and brings out much of the crowd.
“We typically estimate 10,000 to 20,000 throughout the night,” said Sarah Aziz, Director of Programming and manager of DEAI Initiatives, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
There will also be dozens of other attractions throughout the night from performers to kids’ activities artwork and food trucks and of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without fireworks.
“We will have fireworks throughout the evening lots of fireworks it’s a great way to celebrate the city,” Parham said.
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