Britney & Christina Headline New Year Celebrations

The big ball is not all that drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

As revelers headed home early Monday, the first day of 2007, work crews moved in to sweep up the remnants of 2006. Their mission: picking up 3.5 tons of confetti (a record-setting amount), as well as sandwich bags, food wrappers and other debris from the big bash.

More than 1 million people from all over the world gathered in Times Square for the celebration, according to WABC-TV. They greeted the new year with cheers, kisses and hope.

Partygoers poured into Times Square long before the clock struck midnight to snag prime viewing spots. They cheered and joked as the celebration began around 6 p.m., and some practiced several countdowns to 2007 long before the actual hour.

Three stages featured more than a dozen major acts, including the alternative-rock band My Chemical Romance, pop singer Christina Aguilera and the rap group Three 6 Mafia. Country band Rascal Flatts, R&B singer Toni Braxton and the cast of the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys” also performed.

Longtime host Dick Clark was back for ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” broadcast for the second time since a stroke caused him to skip a broadcast in 2004. Speaking from a television studio, he co-hosted the event with Ryan Seacrest.

“It’s still the biggest party in the world,” a raspy-voiced Clark said about 20 minutes before the countdown.

The city of Las Vegas also welcomed, entertained and cashed in on thousands of New Year’s Eve revelers Sunday, as visitors flocked to the land of excess to ring in 2007.

Street parties, black-tie galas and a massive fireworks display were all on the agenda in the city offers a little something for everybody and a lot of gambling, booze and people-watching in between.

Among the visitors was pop queen Britney Spears, who was scheduled to lead the countdown and pop the cork on a magnum of Dom Perignon at PURE nightclub in Caesars Palace casino-hotel on the Strip. More than 3,000 people bought a $250 ticket for the party, including one high roller who paid $50,000 for a table next to Spears, promoter Kate Turner said.

Lesser celebrities were booked perform at a televised downtown street party, including the bands Chicago, OK Go, Five for Fighting and Rockstar: Supernova.

Police closed a four-mile stretch of the Las Vegas Strip to traffic, allowing a steady stream of revelers to wander the street.

This year’s theme — “Vegas Royale 007,” was to be highlighted by $500,000 worth of fireworks launched from seven Strip hotel rooftops and cued to music from the James Bond franchise.

Pyro Spectaculars Inc., the show producer, promised to show off new lemon-, lime- and orange-colored displays, as well as “a creative use of walls of fire.”

Last year, flooding from storms canceled the fireworks display but the party appeared ready to go off there as planned Sunday. A 20-minute show was slated to launch from six downtown hotel rooftops.