NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — An estimated 175,000 to 200,000 people attended Nashville's New Year's Eve celebration.
Officials said they were expecting a crowd of 100,000 for this year's Jack Daniel’s Music City Midnight: New Year’s Eve in Nashville. However, early estimations indicate the numbers far surpassed that.
The previous record crowd was 150,000 in 2015.
The annual, free New Year's Eve celebration has grown tremendously over the last decade.
"We made it bigger," explains Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. CEO, Butch Spyridon. "You can catch a little color from the side now, which before it was very one dimensional, now it's three dimensional. And with 13,000 LED lights, we can spell out 'Happy New Year,' we can put 'Music City' in lights, and we can make it be multi-colored, not just change colors."
Keith Urban once again headlined the event. Peter Frampton, Brett Young, Judah & the Lion, Caitlyn Smith, Devon Gilfillian, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers also performed.
Severe weather briefly delayed the gates opening, but once the skies cleared, no major issues were reported.
"After discussing conditions with OEM, we have decided to delay opening of the Music City Midnight event until 5 pm. Everything else on the schedule remains the same at this time, with the show beginning at 5:30." said the Nashville CVC.
Several road closures went into effect at 6 a.m. Monday and will reopen no later than 6 p.m. Friday. Click here to view a full list of closures.
