Las Vegas is almost ready for big New Year's Eve celebration
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- A few hundred thousand people will be gazing toward the sky over the Las Vegas Strip when the clock strikes midnight this Saturday night.
Las Vegas is expecting a record number of visitors and locals to run in the New Year.
Pyrotechnics engineers station on top of seven hotels and the Stratosphere will light the fuses on the annual fireworks display.
But, if you don't like a crowd, you can catch all the action in your living room.
Action News coverage of the New Year's Eve festivities start at 10 p.m. Saturday night with Dick Clark's "New Year's Rockin' Eve" with Ryan Seacrest.
Then on Action News Live at 11, we will have team coverage of the festivities from the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas.
After that, our New Year's Eve special begins at 11:35 p.m., capped off with coverage of the fireworks show at midnight.
If you plan on heading down to the Strip, a word to the wise. Plan ahead. Las Vegas Boulevard will be blocked off from Saturday afternoon to early Sunday morning.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police department is concerned with your safety too.
Metro joined forces with the Rape Crisis Center and the STOP DUI organization to encourage visitors and residents to "party smart" to help prevent sexual assaults and DUIs.
Their campaign calls for party-goers to have fun and to be smart about it.
"Typically around the holidays and New Year's Eve, we see an increase with younger females, 20-29, with excessive alcohol consumption being a major factor, " said Lt. Dan McGrath with LVMPD's Sexual Assault Division.
Have a plan which includes a designated driver who is also watching out for anyone who might be trying to take advantage of you or your friends.
Metro says that the reported number of sexual assaults have dropped this year but those numbers can change dramatically during year-end celebrations.
The Rape Crisis Center has a hotline number for people coping with sexual assault. It is available 24 hours. Call 702-366-1640. Or, if you are in immediate danger, call 911.
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