NEW YORK– The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lights will take place tonight in New York City.
Here’s everything you need to know about when it starts, how to visit and road closures in the area.
What time is the Rockefeller Center tree lighting in 2024?
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Kelly Clarkson is back this year to host the tree lighting ceremony, which starts at 8 p.m. with live music and performances.
Usually the lights are turned on around 10 p.m
When and where can you see the Rockefeller Center tree?
The Rockefeller Center tree will be lit from 5 a.m. to midnight through mid-January. On Christmas Eve the lights will be on for 24 hours and on New Year’s Eve from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
It is located at 30 Rockefeller Center, between West 49th and West 50th Streets in Manhattan. Visitors traveling by public transportation can use the 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center stop on the B, D, F, and M lines.
Tickets can be purchased to ice skate at Rockefeller Center’s ice rink or view the view from the observation decks. For over $300 you can purchase a VIP pass for a tour of the tree and a champagne toast.
What you need to know about this year’s Rockefeller Center tree
The Norway spruce is from West Stockbridge, Massachusettsin the southern Berkshires region. It is the first tree selected from Massachusetts since 1959.
The tree was cut on November 7 And arrived in town on November 9. It is about 70 years old, 23 meters high and weighs 11 tons.
It is decorated with more than 50,000 colorful lights on 5 miles of wire, and will be topped with a Swarovski star weighing 900 pounds and covered in 3 million crystals.
The history of Rockefeller Center’s tree lighting
Organizers say the holiday tradition dates back to 1931 when a group of workers pooled their money to buy a Christmas tree. They decorated the six-foot balsam fir with garlands made by their families.
Two years later, Rockefeller Center held its first official tree lighting.
December 1999 holds the record for the largest tree – 100 feet tall from Killingworth, Connecticut.
Road closures around Rockefeller Center
If you’re trying to see the tree or just travel around the area, the NYPD says the following streets will be closed Wednesday:
- 46th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 47th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 48th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 49th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 50th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 51st Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 52nd Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- Rockefeller Plaza between 48th Street and 51st Street
- 6th Avenue between 46th Street and 52nd Street
- 5th Avenue between 46th Street and 52nd Street
- Madison Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street
- 6th Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street
- 5th Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street
More information about Gridlock Alert Days for the holidays can be found here.
