Graphic by LollyChristmas.com; Photo via NBCUniversal
As we usher in November, we can celebrate the fact that we’re just weeks away from the 96th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a time-honored tradition that helps welcome the holiday season. This iconic festive morning event will feature extravagant helium balloons floating in the sky and whimsical floats gliding down the streets of New York City while marching bands and other top talent put on show-stopping performances along the way, and you won’t want to miss appearances from the Radio City Rockettes® and, the one-and-only, Santa Claus!
“Today” show anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker will return to host the three-hour telecast; viewers nationwide can catch all the action via the special broadcasts on NBC and Peacock from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. in all time zones; an encore of the Macy’s Parade will air from 2-5 p.m. ET.
This year’s parade will boast more than 5,000 volunteers, 16 giant character balloons, 28 floats, 40 novelty and heritage inflatables, more than 700 clowns, 12 marching bands and 10 performance groups and an array of musical stars.
Mariah CareyBreaking News Update (11/18/22): The Queen of Christmas is opening this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Mariah Carey will welcome the festivities with a magical merry performance, and she will help close the show with a finale performance of her holiday anthem, “All I Want for Christmas Is You”. See Mariah’s Instagram post about it by clicking here!
Check out more information about this year’s celebrity guests, performers and attractions below!
(L-R) Betty Who; The Estefan Family; Jordin Sparks (Photos: Macy’s)
Celebrity talent at the Macy’s Parade will include*:
• Adam Devine, Sarah Hyland and Flula Borg from Peacock’s Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin
• Betty Who
• Big Time Crush
• Cam
• Dionne Warwick
• Fitz and the Tantrums
• Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock
• Gloria, Sasha and Emily Estefan
• Jimmy Fallon and The Roots
• Jordan Davis
• Jordin Sparks
(L-R) Joss Stone; Kirk Franklin; Ziggy Marley (Photos: Macy’s)
• Joss Stone
• Kirk Franklin
• Mario Lopez and family
• Miss America 2022 Emma Broyles
• Muppets of Sesame Street®
• Paula Abdul
• Sean Paul
• Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
• Ziggy Marley
(L-R) Disney’s The Lion King; Funny Girl (Photos: Playbill)
The Macy’s Parade is always a wonderful way to get a look at the shows lighting up Broadway, and this year will be no exception. The show will be kicked off by a dazzling performance from Lea Michele and the cast of Broadway’s Funny Girl, but we’ll get additional performances during the national broadcast—including A Beautiful Noise, Some Like It Hot, and Disney’s The Lion King, which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. The world famous Radio City Rockettes® will also kick up the energy with a special number filled with holiday spirit.
Radio City Rockettes (Photo: NBC)The Macy’s Parade will include performances from marching band ensembles throughout the country, including—Benedict College (Columbia, SC), Bourbon County High School (Paris, KY), Carmel High School (Carmel, IN), Clovis North Educational Center (Fresno, CA), Delfines Marching Band (Veracruz, Mexico), Macy’s Great American Marching Band (United States), NYPD Marching Band (New York, NY), The Queer Big Apple Corps (New York, NY), South Dakota State University (Brookings, SD), Tarpon Springs High School (Tarpon Springs, FL), University of Missouri(Columbia, MO), and Vandegrift High School (Austin, TX).
There will also be performance groups, including—Ballet Hispánico, the Big Apple Circus, Boss Kids, Fusion Winter Guard, the Kilgore Rangerettes, Phantom Limb, The Sigma Gamma Rho Centennial Steppers, St. John’s Dance Team, and the Spirit of America Cheer and Spirit of America Dance Stars.
Perhaps the most anticipated part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is when the one-and-only Santa Claus makes his way down the route to close out the festivities and officially usher in the Christmas season!
Santa Claus (Photo: NBC)There will be five new floats—Baby Shark by Pinkfong and Nickelodeon; Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party by Toys“R”Us; People of First Light by Macy’s; Supersized Slumber by Netflix and The Wondership by Wonder. The giant helium balloon inflatables will include Bluey by BBC; Diary of A Wimpy Kid®by Abrams Books; DINO and Baby DINO by Sinclair Oil; and Stuart the Minion from Illumination, and new balloonicles of Striker, the U.S. Soccer Star by FOX Sports. Returning inflatables include Sinclair’s Baby DINOs, the Go Bowling™balloonicles; Hot Air Dolly by Universal Orlando Resort, Smokey Bear by the USDA Forest Service; and Macy’s own reindeer Tiptoe and Toni the Bandleader Bear.
Many of our favorite balloons will return, including those from PEANUTS Worldwide, Pillsbury™, The Smurfs™, Nickelodeon, McDonald’s®USA and Pikachu™ & Eevee™ by The Pokémon Company International.
You can visit macys.com/parade for information about the inflatables, floats, marching bands, behind-the-scenes previews, and more! NBCUniversal has also announced that, in order to create a more inclusive experience for blind and visually impaired viewers, the network will present the full broadcast with live audio description on the Secondary Audio Program channel (SAP), provided by Descriptive Video Works. The broadcast will be available with additional audio narration, describing the rich visuals of the Parade.
Stay Merry,
All talent, performers, elements and information included are subject to change.*
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