Release Date: Dec 31, 2011

•             Respondents were optimistic about both the world at large and their own personal lives as they head into 2012.  For nearly two thirds of the respondents (62%), 2011 was a better year than 2010 for them personally, and almost all respondents (88%) feel that 2012 will be even better for them than this past year. 67% of respondents also feel that 2012 will be better for the world at large.

•             In keeping with the trend of “love” as this year’s most popular wish from our Wishing Wall, 69% of respondents expect 2012 to be better than 2011 for them romantically.

•             40% want their New Year’s Eve midnight kiss to last “seconds”, 31% over a minute, and 29% hope their New Year’s kiss lasts “until the next morning.”

•             When asked “With which person (on a set list) who passed away in 2011 do you wish to spend New Year’s Eve”, 49% said Steve Jobs, 23% said Elizabeth Taylor, and 21% said Amy Winehouse .  More men (58%) than women (43%) said Steve Jobs, and more women (24%) than men (18%) said Amy Winehouse. 

•             When given a choice between kissing this year’s two top performers at midnight, 54% said they would like to kiss Lady Gaga, and 47% said Justin Bieber.   What accounts for the difference? :  90% of men and 34% of women surveyed said Lady Gaga, whereas 66% of women and 10% of men said they wanted to kiss Bieber.

Notes about methodology: Conducted among visitors to  the Times Square website, the New Year’s Eve Times Square survey solicited answers from more than 1,000 participants. 73% of respondents for this year’s survey were 35 or younger. 65% of the poll respondents plan to spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square, and 96% plan on watching the ball drop – whether from Times Square or from home.