Dick Clark will be back in his familiar position to welcome the New Year. The television/music personality missed out on the festivities last year while he recovered from a stroke suffered in early December 2004, but plans to be in New York’s Times Square to host “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” Dec. 31 on ABC.
Clark will be joined in New York by “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest, while singer/actress Hilary Duff will handle Hollywood party segments of the 34th annual special. Duff will also perform three songs during the broadcast, which will feature a host of as-yet-unannounced performers.
As in past years, “Rockin’ Eve” is broken into three broadcasts that total three and-a-half hours of musical performances and live coverage of the traditional countdown to the ball drop in New York. The first segment of the special will begin at 10 p.m. ET.
