The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual tradition that winds through the streets of Manhattan every Thanksgiving morning, filling the city with giant character balloons, elaborate floats, marching bands, and performances that lead straight into the holiday season. Organized by the Macy’s department store chain, the parade has grown from a modest employee-led procession into one of the most recognized live television events in the United States.
First held in 1924 as a Christmas-themed parade featuring live zoo animals, the event was renamed the Thanksgiving Day Parade a few years later and introduced its now-signature character balloons in 1927, starting with Goodyear-built figures like Felix the Cat. Today the parade travels roughly 2.5 miles from Central Park West down to Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square, combining a century-old civic tradition with a modern broadcast spectacle watched by tens of millions.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Manhattan, New York City
- Organizer: Macy’s, Inc.
- First held: 1924
- Balloons introduced: 1927
- Route length: About 2.5 miles (Central Park West to Herald Square)
- In-person spectators: About 3.5 million annually
- TV viewers (2025 broadcast): About 34.3 million across NBC and Peacock
- Famous for: Giant character balloons and the Santa Claus finale
Giant Balloons, Floats, and Performers
The parade’s signature attractions are its massive helium character balloons, a tradition that began in 1927 when Macy’s partnered with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to build inflatable figures like Felix the Cat after retiring the live zoo animals used in earlier years. Since then, the balloon lineup has rotated through pop-culture icons including Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Bullwinkle, and SpongeBob SquarePants, alongside elaborate floats, marching bands from across the country, and celebrity and Broadway performances staged along the route.
Each float and balloon is built and maintained by Macy’s Parade Studio, and the event traditionally closes with the arrival of a float carrying Santa Claus, a moment long treated as the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season.
Route and Broadcast
The modern parade route starts near 77th Street and Central Park West, heads south along Central Park West and Central Park South, then turns down Sixth Avenue before concluding in front of Macy’s Herald Square store, where the televised portion of the event is staged. The route has been shortened considerably from the original six-mile path used in 1924.
NBC has broadcast the parade nationally for decades, and recent years have set viewership records, with the 2025 edition drawing an estimated 34.3 million combined viewers across NBC and the Peacock streaming service, an 8% increase over the prior year.
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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade FAQs
When did the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade start?
It began in 1924 as a Christmas-themed parade organized by Macy’s employees, featuring floats, bands, and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. It was renamed the Thanksgiving Day Parade a few years later.
When were the giant balloons added?
Character balloons debuted in 1927, built by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, replacing the live animals used in the parade’s earliest years.
What is the parade route?
The parade covers about 2.5 miles, starting near Central Park West and 77th Street and finishing at Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square, Manhattan.
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Photo: cisc1970 / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.