Megan Moroney and Teddy Swims will headline the Herald Square performances at the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Macy's said Friday, Nov. 13, when it released the full lineup. The parade steps off at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26, and Macy's is bringing a record 100 inflatables to mark the centennial march.
The first parade ran in 1924. It skipped three years during World War II, which is why the 100th march falls in 2026. Macy's says more than 11,000 volunteers and participants will take part this year.
How to watch on TV and Peacock
NBC carries the parade from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Peacock streams it, and Telemundo has the Spanish-language simulcast. Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker host on NBC, and Andrea Meza, Aleyda Ortiz and Clovis Nienow host on Telemundo.
The broadcast starts at 8:30 a.m. in every time zone. The march itself begins at 8:30 a.m. in New York, so on the West Coast the broadcast begins three hours after the parade has stepped off. If you miss the morning, NBC runs an encore at 2 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
The full NBC broadcast also carries live audio description for blind and visually impaired viewers on the Secondary Audio Program (SAP) channel. On NBC, the National Dog Show follows the parade at noon.
| Program | Date | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| "America's Parade: 100 Years of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" | Friday, Nov. 20 | 9 p.m. ET/PT | NBC, then Peacock the next day |
| "Countdown to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" | Wednesday, Nov. 25 | 8 p.m. ET/PT | NBC, simulcast on Peacock |
| Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade | Thursday, Nov. 26 | 8:30 a.m. to noon, all time zones | NBC, Telemundo, Peacock |
| Parade encore | Thursday, Nov. 26 | 2 p.m. ET/PT | NBC |
The hour-long documentary goes inside Macy's Studios, where the balloons and floats are built, and uses early parade footage alongside interviews with the three NBC hosts and past performers Billy Porter and Andrew Rannells.
Who performs
Moroney and Swims play at Herald Square, the stretch in front of Macy's flagship store at the end of the route. The float performers are Baha Men, Natasha Bedingfield, Blues Traveler, DEVO, Feid, Mckenna Grace, Icona Pop, Il Volo, Indigo Girls, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, JoJo, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Natalie Merchant, Jamie Miller, Ryan Peter Murphy, Leslie Odom Jr., Keke Palmer, Anthony Ramos, RIIZE and Smash Mouth.
Megan Hilty leads a tribute to Dolly Parton, and EJAE has a featured performance. Melissa Joan Hart, Jack McBrayer, Janet McTeer, Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete are listed for special appearances.
More acts, including Broadway numbers, will be named in the coming weeks.
Ten marching bands are on the list, from Hawaii's Nā Koa Aliʻi Aloha All-State Marching Band to the University of Alabama's Million Dollar Band, the University of Illinois Marching Illini, UConn's Pride of Connecticut and the NYPD Marching Band. Macy's Great American Marching Band brings students from all 50 states.
New balloons and floats
New balloons and inflatables this year include Bluey, Buckaroo Bob the Minion, Earl the Squirrel from Universal Orlando Resort, Hello Kitty Big Apple, Joe Cool & Woodstock, Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey, Underdog and a Levi's balloonicle called Fuzzyeti's Fur Wheel Drive. Underdog last flew in 1984, Macy's said when it opened the 100-day countdown in August. Billie Brightpaw, a bear designed by Macy's own studio, also makes her first flight, and Tom Jr., the son of the parade's Tom Turkey, joins the lineup.
Felix the Cat is back for the anniversary. He was the parade's first character balloon in 1927, carried on sticks by volunteers until helium arrived the next year. The Blue Hippopotamus comes home as well. In the parade's early years Macy's let its balloons go at the end of the march, and after the 1931 parade it was the only one never accounted for.
Macy's is also flying balloons from its Blue Sky Gallery series again, designed with Tim Burton, Keith Haring, Jeff Koons and Yayoi Kusama.
New floats come from DoorDash, HBO (a Hogwarts holiday float), Planters, Purina Dog Chow, GEICO and Macy's itself. Macy's float, Tony Sarg's Amazing Marionettes, honors the designer behind the parade's signature elements. A Macy's All-Stars float carries past parade characters, among them Bugs Bunny, Bullwinkle, Popeye and Olive Oyl, Scooby-Doo, Sonic the Hedgehog and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Seeing it in person
The route runs 2.5 miles from Manhattan's Upper West Side to Herald Square at 34th Street, and Macy's says public viewing is open at designated spots along the way. Macy's has not posted the viewing areas or street closures in its release yet.
UPS is running an honorary balloon handler program at the balloon inflation and on Thanksgiving morning. Spectators who take part get a commemorative handler card and a balloon kit, and can pick up a gift at Macy's Herald Square while supplies last.
