Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade 2025 start time: See full details

The 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to its usual 2.5-mile route for the annual holiday tradition in New York City.

The annual event is back with a star-studded lineup of 34 balloons, 28 floats, four smaller balloons, 33 clown crews, 11 marching bands and 37 performance groups from several stars, including Santa Claus.

Plus, there are several new floats and balloons to look forward to this year.

Here’s what you need to know to watch the festivities this year from the New York City parade route or your couch.

It begins at West 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. The parade will make its way south along 8th Avenue before turning down 59th Street at Columbus Circle.

The remainder of the Thanksgiving Day Parade will travel south down 6th Avenue, ending at Macy’s Herald Square.

The marchers will lead the floats and balloons through a route of 2.5 miles in the middle of Manhattan.

If you’re planning to see the parade in person, here are the best viewing spots, according to Macy’s:

• Central Park West on the west side from West 75th to 63rd Streets
• West 59th on the south side between Columbus Circle and 6th Avenue
• 6th Avenue between West 59th and West 38th Streets

The 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade begins at 8:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, and runs until approximately noon.

The parade will be broadcast at the same time in all U.S. time zones. There will also be a replay of the parade from 2-5 p.m.

There are two channels available to catch the parade in English and Spanish languages.

NBC and Telemundo will broadcast the parade.

NBC’s streaming service Peacock will livestream the parade starting at 8:30 a.m.

You also can watch NBC on other streaming platforms, such as Fubo TV, which offers a free trial and has live TV and DVR functions, so viewers can watch the parade in real-time or on-demand.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, while in its 99th year running, has been televised since 1948.

There were only two years the parade was not held. It was suspended from 1942-1944 to conserve materials for World War II.

This was due to the increased popularity it got after it was featured in the 1947 film “Miracle on 34th Street.”

“Today” hosts Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker will host for NBC.

Although Hoda Kotb is no longer a regular host on NBC, she is returning to host the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

During the Telemundo simulcast, the network’s Carlos Adyan and Andrea Meza will host the show.

The parade will feature five new balloons, three new balloonicles, seven new floats and dozens of performers and marching bands.

One of the new balloons in particular is the Mario balloon, introduced to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the “Super Mario Brothers Game.”

Floats, such as “Friendsgiving in Pop City,” will also debut this year.

This float will feature a furry, 16-foot tall Labubu statue, along with other fan-favorite Pop Mart toys.

There will be 28 performers, including big names such as Busta Rhymes, Ciara, Cynthia Erivo, Foreigner, Gavin DeGraw and Taylor Momsen.

There will also be 11 marching bands.

The first giant Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon was of the popular 1920s cartoon character “Felix the Cat.” According to NPR’s “Morning Edition,” he joined the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1927.

“Felix the Cat” last reprised his role in the parade in 2016.

How do I get tickets to the parade, if I want to see it in person?

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is not a publicly ticketed event. If there are tickets for prime viewing spots of the parade at Herald Square, they are usually given to friends and family of Macy’s employees, parade performers and politicians.

It is possible, however, to view the parade for free along the 2.5 mile parade route.

Thanksgiving is expected to be a breezy and windy day in New York.

Forecasters from the National Weather Service are calling for mostly sunny skies with a high of 44 degrees and a low of 36 degrees.