It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Rockefeller Center.
The Rockefeller Center tree lighting marks the most wonderful time of the year in NYC when thousands gather to get rockin’ around the Christmas Tree. The 90th annual tree lighting takes place on Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. and will be lit daily following Nov. 30 from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. The tree stays lit for 24 hours on Christmas Day and from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
Tree Facts
Standing at 82-feet tall, the Norway Spruce is 50-feet wide and weighs 14 tons. Approximately 5 miles of wire will string more than 50,000 LED lights across the gigantic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
The 85-90-year-old tree comes from Queensbury, NY and will hold a three-dimensional Swarovski star designed by Architect Daniel Libeskind in 2018. The 70-spiked star is covered in 3 million crystals and weighs approximately 900 pounds.
As is tradition for the Rockefeller tree, it will be donated at the end of the Holiday season to Habitat for Humanity to be turned into lumber for home building.
Performances
The 2022 ceremony is to be hosted by NBC News’ TODAY co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin. The live national broadcast “Christmas at Rockefeller Center” will air from NBC at 8 p.m. Easter Standard Time and 7 p.m. Central Time.
Entertainment performances are yet to be announced.
Street Closures
Former Mayor De Blasio implemented seasonal and timed closures of 49th Street and 59th Street in 2019 and 2021, but this year Mayor Eric Adams has yet to adopt the same pedestrian-safety strategy, according to the New York Post.
This story will be updated as performance schedules are announced. For more information, visit rockefellercenter.com.
