This year, instead of thousands of holiday revelers crowding the traditional 2.5-mile parade route through Manhatten that ends in front of Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street to kick off the holiday season – Macy’s is staging a TV-only event. NBC will air the 2020 parade from 9 a.m. to noon in all time zones Thursday. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker will host.
CNET adds that Sponsor, Verizon will live-stream the spectacle on Twitter and YouTube. Verizon also encourages fans to tweet relevant family photos using the hashtags #VerizonLive and #MacysParade for a chance to be included in the livestream.
This way, New Yorkers and families across the nation can view most of what has become a tradition, including the arrival of Santa Claus to herald in the season, in safety. The signature balloons such as Ronald McDonald and Sinclair’s Dino floats, and performances were left intact, although there will be far fewer participants this year.
“While it may look different in execution, we invite everyone to tune in and experience our incredible celebration on television featuring our signature character balloons, dazzling animated floats, whimsical clowns, world-class performances, and of course the arrival of Santa Claus, who will once again herald the start of the holiday season,” said Susan Tercero, the executive producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, in a statement, according to CNN News.
So what are the changes viewers can expect tomorrow? The biggest change is the parade route. The whole parade will take place in front of the company’s flagship store. Many of the performances have been pre-taped and most of the performers are local talent, to cut down on travel, reports the Associated Press.
In addition to The Radio City Rockettes, the parade will feature performances by the Broadway casts of “Ain’t Too Proud,” “Hamilton,” “Mean Girls” and “Jagged Little Pill,” a musical built around the music of Alanis Morissette. These performances were taped days before the parade.
Blessed to be surrounded by my creative brothers @ABlankenbuehler and @LacketyLac in 2020. This day was a blast! I can’t wait for y’all to see the performance at the #MacysParade pic.twitter.com/SShKBi5Zix
— Joshua Henry (@joshuahenry20) November 21, 2020
All performers adhered to a two-week quarantine and abided by the 6-foot rule, as well as underwent frequent testing, and wore the requiring face masks plus face shields, as well as a fresh mask after their performance.
This year’s balloon includes Snoopy, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” “The Elf on the Shelf,” Chase from “Paw Patrol,” Pikachu, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald, SpongeBob SquarePants, and “Trolls.” New this time are “The Boss Baby” and Red Titan from “Ryan’s World.” Instead of the 80 to 100 rope-pullers manning the giant balloons, they will instead be tethered to specialized vehicles.
There will be floats from “Blue’s Clues,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and Lego, among others. Musical guests Bebe Rexha, Brett Young, CNCO, and Karol G will ride the floats and perform. The legendary Dolly Parton, a Covid-19 vaccine sponsor, is joining this year with The Cracker Barrel float.
A New York City Ballet ballerina will perform a dance from “The Nutcracker,” an all-female samba drumline, and acrobats from “The Big Apple Circus” will be featured. There will also be clowns, balloncicles and street performers, All this entertainment can be enjoyed from the comfort and safety of our homes.
