Macy’s Thanksgiving 2020 Parade: How To Watch It & What It Will Look Like

Thanksgiving will be different in many ways in 2020, and that includes Macy’s traditional Thanksgiving Parade. But the spectacular vacation will happen, and it will still be televised live, so home cooks can tune in while they cook their meals. socially distant turkey dinners. Here’s how to follow and what to expect this year.

What changed?

Macy’s has partnered with New York City in an attempt to secure this year’s parade, without sacrificing the show.

“In order to avoid gathering large crowds of spectators along our traditional 2.5 mile New York route, we shortened the route to focus only on the last section of our annual walk,” said one representative of the company said in a press release. “On Thanksgiving Day, we’ll be presenting our annual celebration balloons, floats, performances and announcing the arrival of Santa Claus, outside the famous Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street for our national television special on NBC.

In other words, don’t head to the store, New Yorkers – just stay home and watch the balloons and floats on TV or online.

The company is also reducing the number of participants, testing them for COVID-19 and pre-registration performance which is usually live. Attendees will be wearing masks and social distancing, student bands will not join this year, and the annual Thanksgiving Eve balloon inflation celebration will not take place.

A selection of iconic giant character balloons will always be there, but instead of being flown by 80-100 human managers, they’ll be flown by special vehicles involving fewer people.

What to look for

So many Pikachu

I must catch them all: Viewers will see a troupe of dancing Pikachu and a huge Pikachu balloon. And there is a special reason for all the passion of Pikachu, but the Pokémon company don’t say what it is until the start of the parade. This is the 20th consecutive year that a Pikachu balloon will be part of the parade.

The best of Broadway

Don’t throw your shot. There will be performances from the cast of the hit musical Hamilton, as well as other musicals including Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of Temptations, Jagged Little Pill and Mean Girls. The Radio City Rockettes will also be performing.

Dueling Holiday Movie Floats

Lifetime Vacation Movies have many dedicated fans, and this year for the first time the network is participating in the parade. Its float looks like a charming little town square like the ones seen in many movies and has enough snow (fake, we guess) to make 9,000 snowballs. Tori Kelly will be playing on the float.

But maybe you prefer the Hallmark Channel vacation movies? This array offers a float designed to resemble a 3D Christmas countdown calendar, with surprises behind each marked December date, a central fireplace, and a performance by Pentatonix.

Meet the new boss

Boss Baby adapted to the affairs of the 2010 book, 2017 film and 2018 Netflix series will bring his big head and serious attitude to the parade. It will be a new balloon this year, spreading the early hype for the 2021 big screen sequel The Boss Baby: Family Business.

Tom and Jerry

There is a live-action / animated film combination of Tom and Jerry coming in 2021, assuming the pandemic allows it. The famous fighting cat and mouse have a comedic float in the parade this year. In keeping with the duo’s slapstick story, their float is designed to look like an accident and features a gag where Tom inflates. Meowza!

How and when to watch

The parade will air on NBC Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon in all time zones.

You can also watch online. Sponsor Verizon will stream the show live on Twitter and YouTube. The company encourages fans to tweet relevant family photos using the hashtags #VerizonLive and #MacysParade for a chance to be included in the livestream.

If you watch on your mobile device, you can check out the Parade portal for a 360 degree view of the show.