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CNN Live Event/Special
Cities Around the World Welcome 2025 With a Bang. Aired 12:30- 1p ET
Aired December 31, 2024 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[12:30:17]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN's New Years Eve Live! We are live from New York's Marriott Marquis, overlooking Times Square. I'm Brianna Keilar, and preparations are well underway here for tonight's famous ball drop. As one of the most famous cities in the world welcomes in the New Year.
But before that, cities around the world welcome 2025 with a bang. And it began in Auckland.
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KEILAR: New Zealanders among the first in the world to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. The fireworks show is from Auckland Harbor Bridge. Keep your family.
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KEILAR: And this was the scene in Hong Kong less than an hour ago. Its iconic fireworks display returning with a bang to usher in 2025. Music synchronized with a light show to convey happiness.
And this dazzling display from Down Under. Australia knocking it out of the park with its spectacular fireworks launched from the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Opera House and other landmarks, and this light show synchronized with music.
When men at work released the song down under, it resonated across the globe. It topped the charts in Australia, but also in the U.S. and Europe.
Lynda Kinkade caught up with songwriter and lead guitarist Colin Hay of Men at Work during their U.S. tour, and he spoke about it being like at the height of success and why he loves being back on the road.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an iconic Australian song.
(SINGING)
KINKADE: Around the time down under hit the airwaves in the '80s, Crocodile Dundee was saying --
PAUL HOGAN, CROCODILE DUNDEE: I'll slip an extra shrimp on the Barbie for you.
COLIN HAY, MUSICIAN: It was a great fascination with australia.
KINKADE: Your record business as usual went to number 1 in six countries. That must have been mind blowing.
HAY: And tell me, America, what would you like to hear?
(SINGING)
HAY: We did what very few people have ever done. You know, on the first record, sold millions of records. It's phenomenal in the true sense of the word.
KINKADE: Down Under is practically our national anthem, beloved in Australia. But around the world --
HAY: People claim it from everywhere. You know, people in Bolivia love it, you know, and they don't really know what a vegemite sandwich is, for example. Not very many people do, but its basically, at the end of the day, a song about celebration.
(SINGING)
KINKADE: Born in Scotland, Colin Hay moved to Australia aged 14 and practically grew up in his parents music store.
HAY: When I went to Australia, I had a good year so I would go out in the street just to assimilate. I would start speaking like an Australian bloke, you know, just -- just to not get into any fights and so I assimilate.
KINKADE: You still got it.
Follow up album "Cargo" went triple platinum.
So your parents introduced you to the Beatles as a youngin, and all these years later, you've had the chance to perform with the drummer, Ringo Starr. What was that like?
HAY: Well, quite surreal really. The novelty never wears off. You turn around and you're playing and Ringo's playing the drums. So it's -- he was in the Beatles. It's extraordinary.
Where are you two heading?
KINKADE: Colin Hay made appearances on film and television.
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what that song is about.
KINKADE: Right now, he's touring the U.S. His wife Cecilia on percussion.
HAY: These are all my little babies here. They make me feel very secure.
KINKADE: Do you have a favorite?
HAY: Well, I love them all. I do love you all.
KINKADE: Do you have a favorite song?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Land Down Under.
KINKADE: Can you sing us some of it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no.
[12:35:01]
KINKADE: Will you be singing in the aisles tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably. Probably.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were teenagers when Men at Work was very hot in Canada, too. So --
(SINGING)
KINKADE: Singer/songwriter, Sia, well known for her hit "Unstoppable", calls Colin Hay her inspiration.
SIA, SINGER/SONGWRITER: And I just remember watching it and seeing Uncle Curly go up and accept an award and thinking, that seems like a pretty good life.
HAY: I remember she came to stay with us in New York when she was 11. I remember trying to get her to, you know, bribe her by saying, listen, if you have a shower and clean your room, you know, you can watch David Letterman tonight and have Haagen-Dazs ice cream. And I remember watching her when she was on David Letterman many years later. And so I was weeping uncontrollably in my lounge room watching her on David Letterman.
KINAKDE: What's on the cards for you in 2025?
HAY: I want to stay home a bit more and just be downstairs in the studio and messing around and just hang with Cecilia, my wife, and the dog. It's simple -- simple things.
KINKADE: Happy New Year, Colin.
HAY: Happy New Year, Lynda.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: And still ahead, six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald is wowing Broadway audiences as Mama Rose in "Gypsy", the iconic musical, packing them in heading into a New Year.
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NAOMI OSAKA, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: Hi, I'm Naomi Osaka, and I'm wishing you all a healthy and happy New Years.
KEI NISHIKORI, PRO TENNIS PLAYER: Hi, I'm Kei Nishikori. I would like to wish everyone healthy and happy New Year.
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[12:41:05]
KEILAR: Welcome back to CNN's special coverage of the New Year's Eve Live. I'm Brianna Keilar, live from the New York Marriott Marquis.
And you are looking at live pictures of Times Square as New York is preparing to welcome in the New Year. Our special coverage will continue throughout the day, which will culminate in, of course, our New Years Eve show with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Now, earlier, we spoke to Sting about his latest musical direction, and much like his time with the police, Sting is back performing as part of a trio.
Here he is with one of his new songs called "I Wrote Your Name Upon My Heart".
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STING, SINGER: So here's a new song. It's a romantic song, but it's noisy. It's called "I Wrote Your Name Upon My Heart". One, two --
(SINGING)
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[12:45:05]
KEILAR: You got to love Sting.
And, hey, we are here in New York. We are in Times Square. You've got to love Broadway.
One of theater's most iconic musicals has made a triumphant return to Broadway. That is "Gypsy". It has been one of the highest grossing shows in all of 2024, even during its preview performances.
CNN's Richard Quest speaks with two of its stars as they set their sights on success in 2025. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE (voice-over): Everything's coming up roses for "Gypsy" in 2025.
The show originally opened in 1959, and 65 years later, it's become iconic.
DANNY BURSTEIN, BROADWAY ACTOR: It's a great show. Stephen Sondheim, who I worked with three times, told me it doesn't get much better than "Gypsy".
QUEST: It's often referred to as one of the greatest musicals ever written. "The New York Times" called it Broadway's brassy answer to Shakespeare's "King Lear", and the current revival has been one of the highest grossing shows on Broadway in its early preview weeks.
One of the keys to the early excitement, the quality of its cast.
BURSTEIN: You're so impressed. You know, we get to go to work with the most talented, beautiful people in the world every single day. We feel incredibly lucky, and everybody throws their egos out the door, and there's not one bad --
JOY WOODS, BROADWAY ACTRESS: Egg.
BURSTEIN: -- egg in the entire batch. This is an incredible company. There's always somebody, everybody goes, oh, my god.
QUEST: There must be.
BURSTEIN: Even at CNN, I'm sure.
QUEST: I don't know what you're talking about.
I can't imagine I'm probably that person.
The six time tony winner, Audra McDonald stars as Mama Rose, a mother who will stop at nothing to make her daughters famous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This child is going to be a star.
QUEST: The role has been previously filled with stars such as Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, and Patti LuPone.
McDonald is joined by a rapidly rising star in the Broadway world, Joy Woods, who's taking on her biggest role yet as Rose's daughter, Louise.
Then there's another Tony winner, Danny Burstein. His role as candy salesman turned agent Herbie makes "Gypsy" his 20th Broadway production.
We spoke at the Peak with Priceless Restaurant at the edge at Hudson Yards. He's in no doubt as the significance of this show.
BURSTEIN: Every scene is so precise and funny and smart, and --
WOODS: It's all purposeful, right?
QUEST: What is the purpose?
WOODS: Well, I think it's a great story about recognition and whether it's recognizing truth that allows you to move forward. I think there are a lot of themes about people with dreams and the way they go about them and what happens and what they choose to do when those dreams are either coming true or deferred.
QUEST: But what I took is that last moment, all right, so you get the process, the metamorphosis, the change. You get the message, you get all of that. And then right at the end with the Mink Stole going over, we don't really change that much.
WOODS: I think that is a very starkly human thing that happens in people's lives, the way that you keep your parents around or anybody really.
BURSTEIN: Right. You have to at a certain point, accept them, flaws and all.
QUEST: Is it hard? Is it hard -- not to accept flaws? That's difficult. That's a lifelong. That's a subject for another day.
Is it actually hard to do the show?
WOODS: I think right now it is because I feel like I'm still finding my land legs. And --
QUEST: What you mean by that?
WOODS: Figuring out lines, where to stand, how the moves go, how the songs go. To remember this at the end of the reprise, every day, there are still so many, parts of the show that I'm still thinking about.
QUEST: The stakes are high for "Gypsy's" revival. Competition is fierce on Broadway. Dozens of shows opened in 2024, and more are coming next year.
How long when you when you started, Jody, how long did you sign up for or do you just sign up?
BURSTEIN: We're all signed up for a year.
QUEST: For a year, but this has got potential for -- I mean, look at that. That's the theater you're in.
BURSTEIN: Yeah, the Majestic.
QUEST: Majestic, Phantom.
BURSTEIN: Was there for 35 years.
WOODS: Thirty-five. Hopefully, "Gypsy" has the same fate. BURSTEIN: Yeah.
WOODS: Who's to say if we'll be a part of it for that long? But I hope that it's always nice to know that you've built something and that it lives past you.
[12:50:03]
QUEST: As the production completes its previews and gets into full swing, the cast has a tall task ahead of them, to live up to "Gypsy's" reputation with its first shows, they hope to put their own mark on this classic as they begin a New Year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And our thanks to Richard.
And just to remind you, that new song from Sting earlier was called "I Wrote Your Name Upon My Heart". We wrongly labeled it "message in a bottle" due to a technical issue. You will be hearing that song later in our coverage.
And from the giant numerals for 2025, set to light up at midnight to the wishing wall, where people actually write their wishes on colorful papers, the Times Square alliance has been busy organizing the world famous New Years Eve celebration. It is one of the main event organizers for this iconic Times Square ball drop, and all of the events around this evening.
And with us now is the president of the Times Square Alliance, Tom Harris.
Tom, everything is ready.
TOM HARRIS, PRESIDENT, TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE: Everything is ready. We've tested the ball. We've tested the confetti. We are set to go tonight.
KEILAR: Okay. We have some video of this ball test because that's the thing that cannot fail.
HARRIS: The ball cannot fail. It is the star of the show. And like all shows on Broadway, we want to make sure everything is right. So we test everything ahead of time.
KEILAR: And it is weatherproof?
HARRIS: It is weatherproof.
KEILAR: I'm a little obsessed with the confetti, and part of it is because it's not -- I mean, there is one. There's a ton of it. 3,000 pounds, is that right?
HARRIS: Three thousand pounds of confetti. And it's actually amazing to be here in Times Square at midnight when that ball drops and that confetti goes, it's a blizzard of confetti. It is -- it is a memorable moment.
KEILAR: Some of it's going to be hand tossed off of this roof, along with a lot of others by who?
HARRIS: So it's all -- it's all hand tossed from roofs throughout the bow tie by confetti volunteers that come back year after year.
And among this confetti, there are wishes people have actually, throughout December, written their wishes for 2025 on these pieces of small paper.
KEILAR: So throughout the month of December, people can come to Times Square, or they could have gone to our website and put their wishes on a piece of confetti. We put that in with the 3,000 pounds of confetti and that is thrown with all of the confetti on New Year's Eve, and it's always fun to just see there and try to catch someone's wish and just hope that that comes true for them.
KEILAR: Yeah, really hope that it comes true.
Okay. So it's going to be a big night tonight. We cannot wait. What are you expecting as far as weather? What are you prepared for?
HARRIS: So we're prepared for -- for everything. It's a winter event. There's always some sort of weather issue.
It's going to rain tonight. Rain is much better than snow. You do not have to shovel rain. So that's a good thing.
There is talk of a slight chance of some lightning. The safety of our crew and of our crowd is most important. And we're working very closely with the city agencies to make sure that everyone is safe here in Times Square.
KEILAR: Your wish for 2025?
HARRIS: Is for people to be a little bit more positive, and for myself to be a little bit more positive and look for the good.
KEILAR: You can be the change you want to see in the world. I love it, Tom. Thank you so much. Good luck tonight. It's going to be a spectacular show no matter what happens.
HARRIS: Thank you very much. Happy New Year.
KEILAR: Thank you. Happy New Year to you.
And before this Times Square party gets underway, cities around the world welcome 2025 with a bang and so much fanfare.
Here's a look at how the New Year's celebrations have unfolded so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR: New Zealanders are in the future. They're among the first in the world to celebrate the arrival of 2025. CROWD: Three two, one. Happy New Year!
CHATTERLEY: Wow, wow. That is the way to start a New Year. Happy New Year, Sydney. What a spectacular bar setting firework performance.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was sparkling literally. Japan is known for working really hard. They have an intense work culture, but New Year's is always a time when you get to spend it with family, spend it at home eating delicious food.
(CHEERS)
KRISTIE LU STOUT: Brianna, it was like an '80s teenage dream. And the pyrotechnic master here in Hong Kong delivered tonight. And as you like to point out, and I'm just going to rub it in, I'm already in the future, baby. It is 2025 here in Hong Kong.
[12:55:00]
From the future. I'm wishing you and all our crews a happy New Year.
(MUSIC)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You could feel the seat shaking, the ground shaking, that's how impressive these fireworks were. I'm just like letting it all sink in. It's been what a crazy and awesome New Year's Eve.
KEILAR: And we are getting ready here in New York, fully dressing up because there is so much more to come as we are continuing our special New Year's eve live coverage from all across the globe. A very happy New Year to you from Times Square.
Stay with CNN.
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