advertisement

Huge New Year's Eve celebration to debut this year in Chicago

Chicago will have a new way to ring in 2016. A large-scale New Year's Eve celebration featuring fireworks, music and other attractions will be held downtown.

Unlike the ball drop in New York City, Chicago's countdown to midnight will feature a giant six-pointed Chicago star rising 36 stories up the West Tower of the Hyatt Regency Chicago building as fireworks explode all around.

The free six-hour event is called Chi-Town Rising and will be held along the Chicago River between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive, according to a news release by the organization Thursday night.

"The ascending star symbolizes our collective history of meeting challenges head-on and seeing opportunities in every new adventure," John Murray, executive producer of Chi-Town Rising, said in a release. "It represents our aspirations rising to embrace the New Year. We look forward to this event becoming a new tradition in Chicago."

Chi-Town Rising is being privately funded and has the support of Choose Chicago and the Illinois Office of Tourism.

Don Welsh, the president and CEO of Choose Chicago, said Chicago welcomed 50.2 million visitors in 2014 and was one of only three U.S. cities to draw more than 50 million visitors. Welsh said events like Chi-Town Rising are a key component to achieving Mayor Rahm Emanuel's goal of increasing annual visitation to 55 million by 2020.

"The first quarter is historically a slower time for our hotels, restaurants, attractions and more, so to have a new and exciting demand generator such as Chi-Town Rising is going to make a significant and positive impact on business," Welsh said in a statement.

Chi-Town Rising's full music and talent lineup, activities, private event access and more will be released in the coming weeks.

This rendering shows how a six-pointed Chicago star will rise up the side of the West Tower of the Hyatt Regency Chicago building on New Year's Eve. Courtesy of Chi-Town Rising
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.