What to expect in the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade lineup

View the entries scheduled for the NBC telecast airing Thursday, November 26

By Ken Martinson, Marching.com Founder

NEW YORK (Nov. 21, 2020) — Is there going to be a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2020? The answer is a resounding YES (on television only) and for viewers it won't look all that different from the colorful spectacles of the past.

The biggest differences? The 2020 parade is reimagined as a television-only event in order to keep spectators safely at home and will not travel the usual 2.5-mile route through New York City. Instead, the parade and live broadcast will be centered around the Macy's Herald Square store on 34th Street. And although the parade content is new (Macy's says only a minute portion of the broadcast will be highlights from previous years), some elements will have been pre-taped over a period of several days.

There won't be as many marching bands, of course. The high school and college bands from across that country that had been invited to the 2020 parade have been deferred to the 2021 parade. This year, the marching arts will be represented by several locally based cultural and professional marching ensembles including the NYPD Police Band, West Point Marching Band, Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Band, FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, and the Fogo Azul NYC samba drumline.

You WILL still see 19 floats (four are brand new), 12 giant balloons (two are making their debut), four Broadway musical performances, the high-kicking Radio City Rockettes, Al Roker (who is back for his 26th year covering the parade, along with co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie) and Santa Claus.

Pillsbury Doughboy will be among the giant character balloons appearing in the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade telecast.

Pillsbury Doughboy will be among the giant character balloons appearing in the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade telecast.

The parade will also give a nod to some of New York's most beloved arts and cultural events that were scaled back, canceled or postponed due to the pandemic, with entries representing the Coney Island USA Mermaid Parade, National Puerto Rican Day Parade, NYC Pride March, New York City Ballet, New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade, and West Indian American Day.

"For nearly 100 years the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has served as a milestone celebration that brings joy to millions of families nationwide and kicks off the holidays with unparalleled spectacle," said Susan Tercero, executive producer of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. "Our safely reimagined broadcast will continue that cherished tradition, as viewers nationwide celebrate together bringing a much-needed sense of normalcy to our lives."

Health Measures in Place
Beyond modifying the parade to avoid gathering crowds, Macy's has implemented health measures across all areas of the production. Among the new safety measures:
• Participants, staff and performers will be tested for COVID-19 and undergo wellness checks prior to participation. Participants will be socially distanced during staging and performances, and required to wear face coverings.
• The number of participants has been reduced by approximately 88%, and split over three days.
• Giant character balloons will be flown without the traditional 80-100 handlers and instead employ a specially rigged anchor vehicle framework of five specialty vehicles. Macy's traditional balloon inflation public event in New York City the evening before Thanksgiving will not take place.

Contingency plans have been developed to allow adjustments based on the evolving environment up until parade day.

Where to Watch and Interact
The 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade airs nationwide on NBC and Telemundo on Thursday, November 26, from 9:00 AM-Noon in all time zones. The parade will be rebroadcast from 2:00-5:00 PM.

Supplemental online programming billed as "Verizon Live: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" hosted by Mario Lopez will be streamed beginning at 9:00 AM (Eastern) on YouTube.com/Verizon, Twitter @Verizon and select Verizon Media properties, including Yahoo.

For an insider's look at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, fans can visit macys.com/parade for regular updates including behind-the-scenes previews, historical information, educational activities, and more. Fans can also follow @macys on various social media networks and and join the conversation using #MacysParade.

2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Lineup

Following is the list of 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade entries (all talent, performances, line-up and information is subject to change).

12 GIANT BALLOONS
• Astronaut Snoopy
• The Boss Baby
• Diary of A Wimpy Kid
• Sinclair Oil's DINO
• The Elf on the Shelf
• Chase from PAW Patrol
• Pikachu
• Pillsbury Doughboy
• Red Titan from Ryan's World
• Ronald McDonald
• SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary
• Trolls
• The parade also boasts Hugg, Bjorn, Jojo and Fleck from The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two; Yayoi Kusama's "Love Flies Up to the Sky" blue sky gallery balloon; Universal Orlando Resort's The Nutcracker; the Smokey Bear heritage balloon; Sinclair Oil's Baby DINOs and the Go Bowling balloonicles.

19 FLOATS
• Big Turkey Spectacular
• Blue's Clues & You!
• The Brick-changer
• Central Park
• Christmas in Town Square
• Elf Pets
• Everyone's Favorite Bake Shop
• Harvest in the Valley
• Heartwarming Holiday Countdown
• Her Future is STEM-sational
• McDonald's Big Red Shoe Car
• Mount Rushmore's American Pride
• Rexy in the City
• Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Santa's Sleigh
• Splashing Safari Adventure
• Tom & Jerry's Tourist Trap
• Tom Turkey
• Toy House of Marvelous Milestones

PERFORMANCE GROUPS
• Big Apple Circus
• CaribeFuturism
• Danza Fiesta
• FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums
• Fogo Azul NYC
• The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Band
• Macy's Singing Christmas Tree
• New York City Ballet Sugarplum Fairy
• NYPD Police Band
• West Point Marching Band
• Zeta Phi Beta
• Ahead of the parade, the national broadcast will showcase the Radio City Rockettes and the casts of Broadway shows Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations, Hamilton, Jagged Little Pill, and Mean Girls.

CELEBRITIES
• Lauren Alaina
• Ally Brooke
• Sofia Carson
• CNCO
• Jimmy Fallon and The Roots (opening the show)
• Karol G
• Tori Kelly
• Patti LaBelle
• Miss America 2020 Camille Schrier
• Matthew Morrison
• The cast and Muppets of Sesame Street
• Leslie Odom Jr.
• Keke Palmer
• Dolly Parton
• Pentatonix
• Bebe Rexha
• Jordin Sparks
• Sebastián Yatra
• Brett Young

The Tom Turkey float moments before stepping off in the 2017 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Photo by Marching.com.

The Tom Turkey float moments before stepping off in the 2017 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Photo by Marching.com.

See more information on Marching.com about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Source material and artwork courtesy of Macy's, Inc. Photos by Marching.com.

Copyright 2020 Marching.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published or redistributed without permission.

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What to expect in the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade lineup