What organizers billed as the West Coast’s largest free New Year’s Eve event drew throngs to Gloria Molina Grand Park late Tuesday and on into Wednesday, Jan. 1, with local and international artists performing global music on two stages and a seven-minute art show projected onto City Hall.

It was just one of myriad events staged to welcome 2025 around Los Angeles County.

Gloria Molina Grand Park’s NYELA celebration encompassed the six blocks that comprise the park.

The Countdown Stage in the park’s Block 4 between Broadway and Spring Street was hosted by Novena Carmel from KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic.”

The art show highlighted Los Angeles’ beauty, diversity, culture and natural landscapes and seek to heighten Angelenos’ “awareness of environmental green living,” according to organizers.

Alcohol was not permitted.

For New Year’s Eve, California Highway Patrol officers ramped up operations in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and statewide, to crack down on drunken and drug-impaired motorists as part of a holiday period anti-DUI campaign.

The CHP initiated its New Year’s “maximum enforcement period” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when all available officers deploy to catch impaired motorists, speeders and other traffic violators.

The campaign, which replicates a 30-hour MEP for Christmastime, was scheduled to continue until late Wednesday night.

“Our officers are committed to working through the holidays to ensure everyone can reach their destinations safely,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said. “Safe roads are possible when every driver makes responsible decisions behind the wheel.”

Other New Year’s Eve events in Los Angeles County included:

• Hundreds of brave residents descended on Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro to dive into frigid waters for the annual Polar Bear Swim early Wednesday

• The morning hours before the Rose Parade have always been a favorite for runners, who take to a closed Colorado Boulevard and take in the brisk morning air before the parade. This year, it featured the Roses 5K, with runners taking off at at midnight, to ring in 2025.

•Long Beach’s Queen Mary hosted a New Year’s Eve extravaganza featuring a music, a balloon drop and fireworks.

• A fireworks and glow party at Burton Chace Park in Marina Del Rey included viewing of the East Coast and West Coast countdowns at 8:59 p.m. and 11:59 p.m.

• A family-friendly New Year’s Eve ice skating experience with a countdown to midnight Eastern Time at Ice at Santa Monica.

City News Service contributed to this report