stage in Times Square during its
ABC 2000 Today broadcast. ''2000 Today's'' core international broadcast was 28 hours long, following the beginning of the
New Year 2000 across the world's
time zones. The programme was tailored by individual broadcasters to provide local content and hosts. There was no in-vision commentary or studio used for the Estonian broadcast and was aired on
TV3 without commentary between midnight and 6:00 UTC. The broadcast on
BBC One in the
United Kingdom started on 31 December 1999 at 09:15
UTC.
2000 Today started its international feed at 09:40 UTC, with the
Kiribati Line Islands celebrating the arrival of 2000 at 10:00 UTC. Most of Europe celebrated midnight at 23:00 UTC. Broadcasting celebrations from many countries under
Central European Time posed a particularly complex broadcast challenge.
2000 Today chose to rapidly air each nation's midnight observances in succession, using tape delays in most cases. This hour of the broadcast included a blessing by
Pope John Paul II from
Vatican City and the pyrotechnic display of the
Eiffel Tower in
Paris.
ABC 2000 Today in the United States and French broadcasters
TF1 and
France 2 covered the festivities live from the Eiffel Tower. In addition, Italian broadcaster
Rai used the pope's blessing for its
Millennium – La Notte Del 2000 broadcast. The celebrations in
London and the United Kingdom are part of the 00:00 UTC segment including the opening of the
Millennium Dome, the chimes of
Big Ben, and the first fireworks display (known as the “River of Fire”). The BBC was there to cover the segment. For the
Eastern Time Zone (05:00 UTC),
2000 Today chose to air each country’s observance with the most notable one being the famous “
Ball Drop” in
Times Square, New York.
ABC 2000 Today in the United States covers the festivities in the square with
Dick Clark and as the ball drops, it shows a crowd of two million spectators who are counting down to midnight. ''2000 Today's
international feed finished shortly after midnight celebrations were broadcast from Samoa on 1 January 2000 at 11:00 UTC. BBC One in the United Kingdom continued to broadcast with national features until 13:30. Later the same evening, it aired a two-hour highlights programme, The Best of 2000 Today''. ==Personalities==