For the first time ever, Carnival Cruise Lines is infusing its fun spirit into the world’s largest New Year’s Eve celebration in New York’s Times Square.  Carnival today announced it is the official confetti sponsor of the Times Square New Year’s Eve 2011 celebration, bringing its signature fun and popular brand to the annual gathering of more than a million revelers.  The sponsorship includes multiple opportunities to associate the “Fun Ship” brand with the annual excitement and engage Times Square visitors and Carnival fans online with the option to have their wishes for 2011 added to the celebration’s confetti.

Carnival’s Senior Cruise Director John Heald will lead the official confetti air-worthiness test in Times Square in late December.  He will then grace the main event stage on December 31 to lead the New Year’s Eve celebrants in a practice countdown, complete with 500 pounds of Carnival-colored red, white and blue confetti, the first confetti drop of the New Year’s Eve 2011 party.  At the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2011, a ton of colorful Carnival Confetti, hand-tossed by approximately 100 “confetti dispersal engineers,” including a number of lucky Carnival employees, will fill the New York City skyline.  Carnival will also engage the crowd through billboard advertisements and a text to win cruise giveaway on New Year’s Eve. 

“Carnival is thrilled to be part of New York City’s New Year’s Eve celebration and add our brand of participatory fun to the festivities,” said Jim Berra, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Carnival Cruise Lines.  “There is no place more iconic and energetic than Times Square on New Year’s Eve, so the opportunity to be the official confetti sponsor of this celebration is a great way for us to reinforce the fun our guests experience and to kick off the New Year for our brand. We’ll also be sending warm thoughts of Caribbean climes and tropical breezes to the revelers braving the cold by giving away a Carnival cruise vacation to one lucky person.” 

Carnival is giving people a chance to get in on the confetti fun with the Carnival Confetti New Year’s Eve Wishing Wall at the Times Square Visitor’s Center located at 1560 Broadway in New York City.   Wishing Wall visitors are invited to share their hopes and dreams for the coming year on colorful slips of paper that will be added to the ton of confetti that will rain from the sky as the clock strikes midnight.  Those unable to visit the Wishing Wall but who would still like to have their wish included in the Carnival Confetti, can visit www.facebook.com/Carnival to learn more and follow simple instructions to share what fun things they wish to do next year and have their wish included in the confetti that will be part of the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration.