The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will soon celebrate its 100th anniversary, is anticipated to bring another year of happiness with balloons, music, and festive spirit.
This year’s parade will showcase 22 floats, 17 character balloons, 15 heritage and novelty balloons, and over 700 clowns, as reported by NBC, the broadcasting network for the event. Moreover, the parade will feature performances by various music stars, along with 11 marching bands and 10 performance groups.
For those looking forward to this cherished tradition, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will occur on Thanksgiving Day itself, falling on Thursday, Nov. 28 in 2024.
In addition, the Countdown to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade special will be aired on the evening before Thanksgiving, on Nov. 27, providing viewers with an exclusive look behind the scenes.
To catch the parade, viewers can tune in at 8:30 a.m. in all time zones, as the parade will run for 3 ½ hours until noon. An encore presentation will be broadcast at 2 p.m. ET/PT.
The parade typically takes place in New York, starting from Manhattan’s Upper West Side and concluding at Macy’s Herald Square flagship store on 34th Street, which serves as both a platform and backdrop for performances.
For those planning to watch the parade from the comfort of their homes, NBC will be broadcasting the event for cable viewers, accessible through an antenna or cable and satellite providers. Additionally, cord-cutters can stream the parade on Peacock, with an encore telecast starting at 2 p.m. EST/PST. A Spanish-language simulcast will also be available on Telemundo.
The hosts of this year’s parade broadcast will be Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker from NBC’s Today show. However, it was announced in late September that this might be Kotb’s final time co-hosting, as she is departing from the TODAY show after nearly two decades as its co-anchor, with her official last day on Today set for January 10.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade first took place in 1924, although it won’t be commemorating its 100th anniversary this year. The parade was not held in 1942, 1943, and 1944 due to World War II, as per Macy’s. Initially a Christmas event, the parade included floats, bands, zoo animals, and 10,000 spectators. It concluded with Santa Claus’s arrival and the unveiling of the store’s Christmas windows. Three years later, the event was officially renamed the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade was first televised in New York in 1946 and nationally on NBC the following year.