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sloowhand t1_j23iy2o wrote

I would suspect that it’s proportional to the number of people who are actually in town on NYE. So much of DC’s population leaves town for the holidays that the scale of the celebration shrinks to match it.

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veloharris t1_j23zgjv wrote

The metro area population is in the millions, it would draw a crowd. Not for or against it, but it'd definitely draw a crowd.

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veloharris t1_j23zhqi wrote

The metro area population is in the millions, it would draw a crowd. Not for or against it, but it'd definitely draw a crowd.

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GolditoAsador t1_j23hwzl wrote

IIRC, the look of the Washington Monument in 1999 was different because they were doing work on the outside. There was scaffolding there that they made look really cool with lighting at night. I'm not sure if it was only for the holidays or they did it in general that year, but part of the look of the Monument was the scaffolding.

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[deleted] OP t1_j23j2nl wrote

[deleted]

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thewholesomeredditG t1_j23jsie wrote

They have put on cool things before, like for the Apollo anniversary. They could do it similar to the Eiffel Tower and add colors and interesting lights, maybe do a countdown. I do think it would make for a cool change and fun

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celj1234 t1_j24mcte wrote

Who the hell wants to be outside in freezing DC on nye?

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rsplatpc t1_j248tvz wrote

because no event planner is going to do a massive outdoor event in January in DC due to unpredictable weather / you know how much money you could lose with cold temps and rain / sleet?

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LessDramaLlama t1_j246ct0 wrote

The federal government puts up $6-7 million for Independence Day celebrations, which mostly amount to musical performances and fireworks. DC also also spends a few million from its Emergency Planning and Security Fund. With NYC dominating the “national” NYE celebration, you won’t see the feds putting up millions for a DC-based celebration. If, somehow, a private org wanted to put something together on the Mall, they’d have to work with NPS, and that permitting process is quite onerous.

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righteousndignation t1_j24j05z wrote

For anyone who wants to see the actual celebration in question, here's the video linked straight to the moment of the "ball drop."

That celebration was privately funded to the tune of $12.5M according to The Post. That's about $26M today. I guess it's doable. The question is would a lot of people show up year after year. I think the fact that it was Y2K was the only reason it had such a large turnout of celebrities and spectators.

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Commercial_F t1_j240h7t wrote

DC is already packed as it is that night, you want more people to come to the city.

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freelancerjourn t1_j24fu0i wrote

We have deeper issues such as affordable housing (or the lack thereof). And especially under Trump, the federal government had a history of putting on big events in the city and not timely reimbursing the DC government. The Trump administration didn’t timely reimburse the DC government for Trump’s narcissist 4th of July event, his inauguration, etc. And the DC government itself needs to be focused on other issues besides a massive NYE celebration.z

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