New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams (D) will be sworn in as the city’s mayor at the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, The New York Times reported.
Adams in a statement Wednesday shared his excitement to be sworn in as the city’s 110th mayor during the event, where musical acts KT Tunstall, Chlöe and Journey will perform.
A city clerk will swear in Adams using the mayor-elect’s family Bible and he will take office on Saturday in the middle of Times Square, according to The Times.
“Times Square has long been synonymous with the New Year — a place of excitement, renewal, and hope for the future,” Adams said in a statement. “These are the same themes that animated my campaign and will inform my mayoralty, as I prepare to lead the city out of this challenging period.”
This comes as some epidemiologists have argued that current New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) should cancel the annual event due to the spread of the omicron variant in the city, the Times noted.
De Blasio instead limited the audience presence at the event from the usual 58,000 to 15,000, and officials are also requiring proof of vaccinations and are implementing a mask mandate.
Adams recently canceled an indoor inauguration ceremony planned for Saturday at Brooklyn’s restored Kings Theatre due to COVID-19 concerns, the Times noted.