Macy's Thanksgiving Parade 2021: route, street closures, times, and how to watch

After the smaller, pandemic-affected 2020 edition, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is back with a bang on Thursday. Last year the pandemic restrictions prevented the usual crowds of spectators from gathering in the street and the whole thing was a strictly made-for-TV event.

Returning to its more traditional form, this year’s parade boasts 28 floats, 15 huge character balloons and 10 marching bands. There will also be nine performance groups in attendance and live shows from the likes of Carrie Underwood, Kelly Rowland, Kristin Chenoweth and Andy Grammer.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 95^th Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade…

How to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

As usual the event will take place on Thanksgiving Day, 25 November, and will be available to watch live across the country.

The live broadcast will be available on NBC and will be aired from 9am–12pm in all time zones in the United States. If your cable provider offers the service, you can also catch NBC’s coverage on the NBC website or NBC app. The network will also air the whole parade again from 2pm Eastern Time on 25 November, for anyone who misses the live broadcast.

The show will also be available in Spanish, with a simulcast from Telemundo at the same times. Streaming service Peacock will also be showing the whole Thanksgiving Day Parade live, the first time the show has had a dedicated streaming partner.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade route and street closures

The parade will begin from West 77^th Street and Central Park West at around 9am, but you will be able to set up chairs from 6am to ensure that you get the best spots. This is usually the best place to get a good view of the parade.

From here the parade will move towards Columbus Circle, before turning onto Central Park South. Bear in mind that there is no viewing access for this section of the route.

The parade then heads down West 59^th Street, before moving south to West 38^th Street. This section has some of the best viewing spots before the parade reaches the final stretch towards West 34^th Street and the final destination of Macy’s Herald Square.

A statement from the NYPD warns: “Heavy traffic conditions are expected, and there will be rolling street closures in Manhattan, so mass transit is strongly encouraged.”

From 7am onwards sections of West 81^st Street and West 77^th Street will be closed to vehicles and numerous roads will be closed through the day. For a full list of road closures and traffic alerts related to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, check out the city’s traffic advisory notice.