CNN New Year’s Eve 2021-2022 Performers & Hosts

CNN

Coming to you live from Times Square, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen are ringing in the new year on CNN with their annual New Year’s Eve Celebration. Here’s what you need to know about the performers, hosts, special guests, and more.

The Hosts

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has been hosting “New Year’s Eve Live” since 2002. Kathy Griffin used to be his co-host until she was let go in 2017 and replaced by “Watch What Happens Live” host Andy Cohen.

The Anderson-Andy duo is back to ring in 2022 live from Times Square from 8 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Eastern time. After that, CNN’s Don Lemon and Alisyn Camerota, and comedian Dulce Sloan will take over live from New Orleans, Louisiana as the Central time zone rings in the new year.

There are several other CNN correspondents involved from all over the country as well. The CNN press release teases:

The program will also feature CNN correspondents at celebrations across the country, including CNN’s Stephanie Elam from a Las Vegas dance party, Randi Kaye in Key West, Richard Quest from the top of a NYC skyscraper, Chloe Melas from Times Square, Gary Tuchman and his daughter Lindsay Tuchman in Puerto Rico, Coy Wire from Minneapolis, and Donie O’Sullivan live outside a NYC Irish Bar.

During the 2019 celebration, Cooper shared an emotional message with the viewers about why he loves doing New Year’s Eve and how much it meant to him as a kid, especially in the year that he lost his dad.

“As a kid, I used to watch New Year’s Eve in Times Square with Dick Clark and my dad died on January 5 and I remember the year, January 1 of that year, 1978, watching this with great fear and sadness because I new something bad was going to happen and I think there’s a lot of people who watch on New Year’s Eve and it brings a lot of people down because they’re alone or they’re not where they want to be in life and I just think it’s always important to acknowledge that there’s a lot of us out there who feel that way and that you’re there and we see you and let’s hope the new year brings better things and you’re not alone. So thank you very much for being with us,” said Cooper.

For his part, in 2020, Cohen had a different message for viewers, telling Cooper, “I really am excited to hang out and get drunk with you for five hours in New York City. Like that to me is a super fun New Year’s Eve plan. So I’m psyched to hang out with you, and we’re just going to turn this s*** show around.”

The Special Guests & Performers

Katy Perry is headlining CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live” from her new Las Vegas residency, which is titled “PLAY at Resorts World in Las Vegas.” She will be joined by other special guests that include William Shatner, Patti LaBelle, Earth, Wind & Fire, Duran Duran, Amanda Gorman, Patti LuPone, David Arquette, Leslie Jordan, Cheri Oteri and many more.

The CNN ticker will feature greetings and messages throughout the night from fans on social media, so be sure to hashtag your posts #CNNNYE for a chance to be featured live on air.

The program will stream live for subscribers on the CNNgo app and the CNNgo website.

The fun starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, December 31 on CNN.