The 92nd edition of the iconic holiday event ushers in the season with its signature giant character balloons, floats of fantasy, the nation’s finest marching bands, whimsical performance groups, music’s biggest stars and the one-and-only Santa Claus.
Below is a run-down of the Parade “by the numbers” for Thursday, November 22, 2018:
OVERVIEW:
Years of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – 92 (est. 1924)
Note: The Parade was canceled in 1942, 1943 and 1944 due to World War II.
Parade Route Spectators – 3.5 Million
Parade Route Length – 2.5 miles (77th & Central Park West south to 34th Street-Herald Square)
Participants - 8,000+ including Macy’s colleagues and their friends & families, celebrities, recording artists, athletes, Broadway performers, marching bands, clowns, dancers, cheerleaders and other performance groups
BALLOONS:
Giant character helium balloons – 16
43 novelty, heritage, balloons, balloonicles, balloonheads and trycaloons
New balloons – Goku from Dragon Ball Z; Fleck, Bjorn, Jojo and Hugg, the elf stars of “The Christmas Chronicles” on Netflix; Go Bowling™ Balloonicles; Little Cloud by FriendsWithYou™; The Nutcracker from Universal Orlando Resort™; Sinclair Oil’s Baby Dino Balloonicles; and Macy’s own Sunny, the Snowpal
Height of tallest balloon – 62 feet (Diary of A Wimpy Kid®)
Length of longest balloon – 77 feet (Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger)
Width of widest balloon – 39 feet (Jett by Super Wings)
Balloon handlers – 1,350 (90 handlers on average per giant balloon)
FLOATS:
Floats – 26, comprised of hundreds of different set pieces and other structural elements
New floats – Elf Pets® by Elf On The Shelf®, Fantasy Chocolate Factory by Kinder®, Rise of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Nickelodeon, Splashing Safari Adventure by Kalahari Resorts and Conventions
Length and height of largest float – 60 feet long and 3.5 stories tall (Santa’s Sleigh)
Float escorts – 400
THE BROADCAST:
Television Viewers – More than 50 Million, one of the country’s most viewed televised events
Hours of Live Television – 3 (9am-noon in all time zones)
Years on NBC, official national broadcast partner – 66 (since 1952)
NBC TODAY Show anchors as host of the Parade: 2018 marks Hoda Kotb’s 1st year hosting
