How to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The 97th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade takes place Thursday, with more than three million spectators expected to brave the early morning chill for a look at the procession’s many floats, balloons and celebrity performers.
This year, NBC moved the broadcast up a half hour to an 8:30 a.m. start. Additional cameras will also be stationed along the route for new angles of SpongeBob, Ronald McDonald and Bluey.
Who is broadcasting the event?
The broadcast will air on NBC and streamed live Peacock from 8.30 am
Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker of the “Today” show will host the broadcast of the event, which ends at noon.
Where is the parade?
The parade follows a 2.5-mile route from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to the Macy’s flagship store, starting at West 77th Street and Central Park West and ending at Herald Square. Public viewing is not possible everywhere along the route; the best spots are along Central Park West between West 75th and West 61st Streets, and along Sixth Avenue between West 59th and West 38th Streets. Spectators arrive as early as 6am to get the best vantage points.
You can find a detailed map of the route here.
Who will be in the parade?
This year’s performers include jazz musician Jon Batiste, who was just nominated for six Grammys, and Cher, who recently released a holiday album. Country singer Jessie James Decker, the singing group Pentatonix and the R&B singer Brandy will also perform on floating stages.
Other notable guests include Grace Stanke, this year’s Miss America; Jordan Chiles, an Olympic gymnast; and Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells of the new Broadway show “Gutenberg! The musical!”
There will also be 11 marching bands making their way along the parade route, including Rutgers University’s Marching Scarlet Knights, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s Eagle Regiment and the O’Fallon Township High School Marching Panthers.
The festivities will feature 31 floats, 25 balloons and six self-propelled ‘balloons’.
What’s new?
In addition to this year’s new start time and added cameras, the parade will feature six new balloons, including the Pillsbury Doughboy, Po from the animated film “Kung Fu Panda” and Snoopy dressed as a “beagle scout.”
There will also be six new floats, including a “Camp Snoopy” design and one inspired by Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory in the upcoming “Wonka” movie.