Thanksgiving Day Parade is underway
The Tom Turkey float moves down Sixth Avenue during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021. The parade is returning in full, after being crimped by the coronavirus pandemic last year. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
NEW YORK, N.Y. — The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City starts at 9 a.m. on Thursday. As always, it will feature a variety of epic balloon floats and entertaining acts for the whole family to enjoy. You can watch the parade on NBC or livestream it through Peacock.
Who are the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade performers?
This year’s lineup of performers is stacked: Paula Abdul; Big Time Rush; Cam; Jordan Davis; Blue’s Clues & You! Host Josh Dela Cruz; Gloria, Sasha and Emily Estefan; Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, Fitz and the Tantrums; Kirk Franklin; Mario Lopez and family; Ziggy Marley; Miss America 2022 Emma Broyles; the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street®; Sean Paul; the cast of Peacock’s Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin (Adam Devine, Sarah Hyland and Flula Borg); Joss Stone; Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue; Jordin Sparks; Dionne Warwick; Betty Who; and Santa Claus.
Also: The stars of Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock on Apple TV+, will appear throughout the special. And you know Broadway will be represented. The parade kicks off with a performance from Lea Michele and the cast of Broadway’s Funny Girl, and we’ll see more musical numbers from A Beautiful Noise, Some Like It Hot, The Lion King, and the Radio City Rockettes.
That’s not it, either. Be on the lookout for the dancers of Ballet Hispánico, the Big Apple Circus, Boss Kids, the Fusion Winter Guard, the Kilgore Rangerettes, the puppeteering skills of Phantom Limb, the Sigma Gamma Rho Centennial Steppers, the St. John’s Dance Team, and the Spirit of America Cheer and Spirit of America Dance Stars.
And get ready for the grand finale when Mariah Carey takes to the parade around noon ET to sing her hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You!”
What are the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons?
We’ll see a mix of old and new favorites as far as balloons go. Making their debuts this year are Bluey by BBC; Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Abrams Books; DINO and Baby DINO by Sinclair Oil; Striker, the U.S. Soccer Star by FOX Sports; and Stuart the Minion from Illumination.
And you’ll see the return of Ada Twist, Scientist by Netflix; Astronaut Snoopy by PEANUTS Worldwide; The Boss Baby from DreamWorks Animation; Goku by Toei Animation; a Funko Pop!-inspired Grogu™ by Funko and in partnership with Lucasfilm; Chase from PAW Patrol® by Nickelodeon; Pillsbury Doughboy™ by Pillsbury™; Red Titan from “Ryan’s World” by Sunlight Entertainment and pocket.watch; Ronald McDonald® by McDonald’s® USA; Papa Smurf from The Smurfs™ by Nickelodeon; Pikachu™ & Eevee™ by The Pokémon Company International; and SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary by Nickelodeon. Plus: Sinclair’s Baby DINOs, the Go Bowling™ balloonicles; Hot Air Dolly by Universal Orlando Resort, Smokey Bear by the USDA Forest Service; and Macy’s very own reindeer Tiptoe and Toni the Bandleader Bear.
What are the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats?
We will get five new floats this year: Baby Shark by Pingfong and Nickelodeon (Ziggy Marley); Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party by Toys“R”Us (Jordin Sparks); People of First Light by Macy’s; Supersized Slumber by Netflix (Ballet Hispánico); and The Wondership by Wonder (Cam).
And here are some of the returning floats you’ll see: 1-2-3 Sesame Street® by Sesame Workshop™ (The cast and Muppets of Sesame Street); Big City Cheer by Spirit of America Productions (Miss America 2022 Emma Broyles); Big Turkey Spectacular by Jennie-O (Paula Abdul); Birds of a Feather Stream Together by Peacock® (Adam Devine, Sarah Hyland and Flula Borg); Blue’s Clues & You! by Nickelodeon (Josh Dela Cruz); The Brick-changer by The LEGO® Group (Fitz and the Tantrums); Celebration Gator by the Louisiana Office of Tourism (Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue); Christmas in Town Square by Lifetime® (Kirk Franklin); Colossal Wave of Wonder by Kalahari Resorts and Conventions (Sean Paul); Deck the Halls by Balsam Hill® (Gloria, Sasha and Emily Estefan); Elf Pets® by The Lumistella Company®; Everyone’s Favorite Bake Shop by Entenmann’s®; Fantasy Chocolate Factory by Kinder™ (Big Time Rush); Harvest in the Valley by Green Giant® (Jordan Davis); Heartwarming Holiday Countdown by Hallmark Channel (Joss Stone); Her Future is STEM-Sational by Olay (Betty Who); Macy’s Singing Christmas Tree (Macy’s Choir); Magic Meets the Sea by Disney Cruise Line (Captain Minnie Mouse and Friends); Santa’s Sleigh (Santa Claus); Snoopy’s Doghouse by PEANUTS Worldwide; Tom Turkey (Mario Lopez and family); Toy House of Marvelous Milestones by New York Life (Dionne Warwick); Winter Wonderland in Central Park by Macy’s (Jimmy Fallon and The Roots.)
What marching bands will play in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
No parade is complete without numbers from the best marching bands around the country. See the lineup, below:
Benedict College (Columbia, SC), Bourbon County High School (Paris, KY), Carmel High School (Carmel, IN), Clovis North Educational Center(Fresno, CA), Delfines Marching Band (Veracruz, Mexico), Macy’s Great American Marching Band (United States), NYPD Marching Band (New York, NY), The Queer Big Apple Corps(New York, NY), South Dakota State University (Brookings, SD), Tarpon Springs High School(Tarpon Springs, FL), University of Missouri (Columbia, MO), and Vandegrift High School (Austin, TX).
How to watch the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Catch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starting Thursday, November 24 at 9 a.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock. The network will air an encore telecast at 2 p.m. ET.
In order to create a more inclusive experience for blind and visually impaired viewers, NBCUniversal is proud to present the full NBC broadcast with live audio description on the Secondary Audio Program channel (SAP), provided by Descriptive Video Works. The broadcast will be available with additional audio narration, describing the rich visuals of the parade.