It’s formally essentially the most fantastic time of the yr because the Rockefeller Middle Christmas tree takes heart stage at its annual star-studded lighting ceremony Wednesday.
Kelly Clarkson, whose discuss present tapes on the midtown landmark, will host the lighting ceremony beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
The greater than 50,000 LED lights decking out the 74-foot-tall Norway spruce, topped off by a Swarovski star, in all probability gained’t activate till nearer to 10 p.m.
Employees set up the Rockefeller Middle Christmas tree on November 9, 2024 in New York Metropolis. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Photographs)
The occasion will likely be broadcast on NBC by way of a two-hour stay “Christmas in Rockefeller” particular, which can even be obtainable to stream on Peacock.
It’s a return to festive type for the Grammy winner, 42, who first carried out on the ceremony within the early aughts and hosted the 2023 lighting telecast, months after she relocated to the East Coast.
Performances will embrace a blast from the previous with The Backstreet Boys, in addition to Broadway veteran Megan Hilty, Jennifer Hudson, Dan + Shay, Thalia, Little Huge City and the Radio Metropolis Rockettes.
This yr’s 43-foot-wide, roughly 11-ton tree is Rockefeller Middle’s first to return from Massachusetts since 1959 and was planted in 1967 by a pair of then-newlyweds, Earl and Leslie Albert.
The tree arrived at Middle Plaza on Nov. 9 from West Stockbridge, Mass., about 130 miles west of Boston.
As soon as the tree is taken down in mid-January, it will likely be donated to Habitat for Humanity, per NBC.
The forecast in Manhattan predicts a cloudy night within the low 40s, although with windchill it’ll really feel extra just like the low to mid-30s, with rain doable round 11 p.m.
Visitors within the night is predicted to be congested. The New York Metropolis Division of Transportation has designated Wednesday as one of many final remaining Gridlock Alert Days for the yr and suggested in opposition to driving in Manhattan if doable.
Because of the tree lighting, highway closures will take impact at 11 a.m. on E forty ninth St and E fiftieth St., and E forty eighth and E 51st beginning at 1 p.m.
