In Times Square, workers are getting ready for one of the city's big traditions: The ball drop on New Year's Eve. On Tuesday their focus was the star of the show. Our Lindsey Christ, has more.

Before the countdown, there is the construction.

High above Times Square, workers are busy fitting and bolting all the sparkle onto the ball that will help ring in 2017.

"We want the ball to look shiny and pretty on New Year's Eve," said Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance.

Two hundred and eighty-eight new Waterford crystal triangles are being attached to the nearly six-ton sphere.

The ball will have nearly 2,700 triangles and 32,000 LED lights to capture the world's attention when it drops.

Each year the new crystals have a theme.

"This year's theme, the gift of kindness, you can see from here these intertwining rosettes and diamond cuts," said Waterford Crystal master artisan Tom Brennan.

The theme is chosen years in advance but the producers of the New Year's Eve extravaganza say the 'Gift of Kindness' seems especially fitting to ring in 2017.

"2016 was a year of divisiveness and a lot of difficulty, a lot of nations turning inward with respect to either immigration or refugees or Brexit or a divisive election here, and no matter which way you came out on that, the important thing was to look forward and say 'how to we work together in 2017?'" said Tompkins of the Times Square Alliance.

To underscore the idea of togetherness and unity, the person who will ceremoniously release the ball just before midnight on Saturday is the Secretary General of the United Nations.

The crystals are specially designed to be able to handle extreme wind, intense heat, freezing cold, rain, sleet, ice and snow.

There have been seven versions of the ball since the tradition began in 1907. The first ball, made of iron and wood, was covered in 100 light bulbs. The current version — with its kaleidoscope of LED lights and crystal — was installed in 2008. It now remains above Times Square all year long waiting for its big sixty second descent on New Year's Eve.

Our New Year's Special starts at 11 p.m. Saturday.