This year’s iteration of the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be held virtually, it was announced Monday, nearly two months ahead of the famous event.
“It will not be the same parade we’re used to,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a Monday press conference. “[Macy’s is] reinventing the event for this moment in history. And you will be able to feel the spirit and the joy of that day.”
The mayor confirmed that while viewers will not be able to attend the annual event in-person, New Yorkers and Americans across the country will be able to watch it online and on TV. Like most large gatherings in New York, the shift to a virtual format is due to ongoing public health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We still can’t have the kind of large gatherings that are some of the high points that this year and any year would normally have,’’ de Blasio said. “The parade and the major community events, those kinds of things, still have to wait.”
The mayor gave few specifics about how the virtual parade would be different or similar to the typically live event, but Macy’s website notes that further details about the reimagined celebration are forthcoming. It also points to its work on this year’s Fourth of July fireworks display as inspiration for the November event.
“Following our successful, safe and innovative production of Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks, it is our intention to similarly reimagine Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this November,” the message reads.
During Monday’s press conference, de Blasio suggested that the 2021 event could return to the traditional live and in-person format.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter