Balloons, Broadway and Big Crowds as 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Steps Off in NYC

The holiday season has commenced in Manhattan with the 99th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, filling the streets with large character balloons, intricate floats, and hundreds of performers. The parade begins at 8:30 a.m. ET on the Upper West Side at West 77th Street and Central Park West, proceeding along a 2.5-mile route past Central Park, down Sixth Avenue, and concluding at Macy’s Herald Square at noon.

Macy’s Herald Square flagship store in Manhattan

This year’s parade will feature 34 balloons, 28 floats, 11 marching bands, and approximately 600 clowns. Three Broadway productions will perform for the national television audience. Attendance is projected to exceed 3.5 million along the route, with more than 50 million viewers watching via broadcast.

NBC continues to provide nationwide coverage, hosted by Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker, with streaming available on Peacock. This telecast sustains a longstanding partnership that has established the parade as one of the most-watched entertainment events on U.S. television annually.

In anticipation of its centennial next year, the parade is introducing an extensive array of new elements. Six new balloons will make their debut, including Buzz Lightyear, Super Mario, PAC-MAN, Wigglefoot, Derpy Tiger, and Shrek’s onion carriage. These additions will join established favorites such as Beagle Scout Snoopy, Bluey, Pikachu and Eevee, Spider-Man, and Marshall from PAW Patrol.

New floats include LEGO’s “Brick-tastic Winter Mountain,” Pop Mart’s “Friends-giving in POPCITY” featuring Labubu, Lindt’s “Master Chocolatier Ballroom,” Serta’s “Counting Sheep’s Dream Generator,” Holland America Line’s “Land of Ice and Wonder,” Goldfish’s “Littlest Float,” and the “Upside Down Invasion,” inspired by Netflix’s Stranger Things. Macy’s also presents Wigglefoot, a multi-legged balloon character, and the Frost Pips balloonicles—mobile baby Scout Elves navigating the parade route.

Musical performances and live entertainment remain central to the festivities. The parade opens with a performance by Wicked star Cynthia Erivo and features appearances from Ciara, Foreigner, Lainey Wilson, Lil Jon, Gavin DeGraw, Busta Rhymes, and Conan Gray. Broadway will be represented through numbers from Buena Vista Social Club, Just in Time, and Ragtime, staged before the TV audience at Herald Square.

Eleven marching bands from high schools and colleges across the United States and Panama will participate, accompanied by special guests such as figure skater Ilia Malinin and Paralympian Jack Wallace.

City officials and parade organizers advise spectators to arrive early at designated viewing areas along Central Park West and Sixth Avenue, as these locations are expected to fill rapidly. Weather forecasts predict chilly, breezy conditions, with temperatures in the 40s and wind gusts potentially reaching 30 miles per hour. Should winds intensify, NYPD regulations permit officials to lower balloon heights or ground them entirely—a precaution enacted following previous high-wind incidents.

As tradition dictates, Santa Claus will conclude the parade at Herald Square, signifying the informal start of the Christmas shopping season and celebrating a nearly century-old New York City event that has evolved from a local store promotion in 1924 into a nationally recognized holiday observance.