Overview The Fort Lauderdale Orange Bowl Downtown Countdown is the city's free New Year's Eve street festival, and at midnight a lighted anchor drops over downtown. The City of Fort Lauderdale and the Orange Bowl have put it on together since 2011. It runs from 4:30 in the afternoon to 1 in the morning around Esplanade Park, along SW 2nd Street and SW 5th Avenue, with a headline act on the main stage. The Orange Bowl Committee was created in 1935 to bring tourism to South Florida through an annual football game and the events around it, and it counts 400 committee members and about 1,000 volunteer ambassadors. On site The early evening is built for families: bounce houses, face painting, games, contests and line dancing, with a separate early countdown for children and an anchor lighting for them before the main event. DJs and live acts fill the stage, food vendors line the streets, and the night closes on the anchor drop at midnight. Talent and Influencers American Idol winner Phillip Phillips headlined for New Year's Eve 2025. Brand presence Associate sponsors take space on the festival footprint for sampling and interactive activations, carry signage around the site, and get mentions from the stage and inclusion in the event's media.