Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Going Virtual On TV & Online, Says NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio

A signature kick-off for the holiday season – the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade – will go virtual this year, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today, promising an event that will be viewed on both television and online.

With large gatherings still a no-go in New York due to the coronavirus, the iconic holiday event will not be "a live parade, but something that will really give us that warmth and that great feeling we have on Thanksgiving day," de Blasio said.

De Blasio said Macy's will be revealing more details of the plan later today. "It will not be the same parade we're used to," the mayor said. "It will be a different kind of event. They're reinventing the event for this moment in history, and you'll be able to feel the spirit and the joy of that day on television, online."

Related Story

New York City’s 47th Annual Halloween Parade Canceled Due To Coronavirus Pandemic — Report

The decision was not unexpected: Macy's announced last month that the parade would be re-designed in a similar fashion to Macy's other major New York City event, the annual Fourth of July fireworks display above the Manhattan skyline. The massive display was replaced this year by a week of smaller displays, including five-minute fireworks shows in each borough and a live grand finale on July 4th atop the Empire State Building.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a holiday tradition for nearly 100 years, known for the giant floating balloon characters that first appeared in 1927. For decades the event has been televised, with performances in a staging area in front of the landmark midtown Macy's Herald Square store.

The parade has been telecast on NBC since 1953, and has become an important showcase for Broadway productions, with casts performing scenes and musical numbers on floats and at the staging area, giving the industry a rare and coveted national audience.

The parade was canceled during the World War II years of 1942, '43 and '44, returning in 1945. The following year's parade was filmed for inclusion in the now-classic 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street.

The Thanksgiving parade is the second big New York City holiday event impacted by COVID-19 recently: The city's Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, considered the largest participatory event in the country with 50,000 costumed revelers, was canceled last week.

Source: deadline.com