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PHOTOS | Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree turns on amid coronavirus
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree looks different for visitors at Rockefeller Center this year, starting with Wednesday’s tree lighting ceremony. What’s normally a chaotic, crowded tourist hotspot during the holiday season was instead a mask-mandated, time-limited, socially distanced locale due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tree, a 75-foot (23-meter) Norway spruce, had its holiday lights turned on in an event that was broadcast on television but closed to the public. The telecast used pre-recorded performances from entertainers like Kelly Clarkson and Dolly Parton, and camera shots of the streets around the tree showed them to be largely empty. In the days following the lighting until the early part of January, those wishing to take a look at the tree will have to follow a host of rules. The plaza where the tree is physically located will be closed to the public; instead, there will be specific tree-viewing zones on the midtown Manhattan blocks on either side.
Updated on: Dec 03, 2020 1:33 PM IST
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (L) and Rob Speyer light the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center amid coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in New York City, New York, U.S., December 2, 2020. (REUTERS)
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New York:New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, and Rob Speyer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tishman Speyer, stand by before pushing the button that illuminated more than 50,000 lights on the 75-foot-tall Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree at the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, in New York. The ceremony is a mask-mandated, time-limited, socially distanced event due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)
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A worker wearing a face protection balances with a decoration ball as she sets up the stage during lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center amid COVID-19 restrictions in New York City, New York, U.S., December 2, 2020. (REUTERS)
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People wait for the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in New York City, New York, U.S., December 2, 2020. Picture taken December 2, 2020. (REUTERS)
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Dan Smyers (L) and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay perform during the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in New York City, New York, U.S., December 2, 2020. (REUTERS)
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The Christmas tree is lit at Rockefeller Center amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in New York City, New York, U.S., December 2, 2020. (REUTERS)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR TISHMAN SPEYER - Tori Kelly performs at the 88th Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, in New York. The lit tree will be on display starting Thursday, December 3, through early January 2021 and will also will be livestreamed each day from 8 am to midnight at rockefellercenter.com. ( (AP)
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IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR TISHMAN SPEYER - New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, left and Tishman Speyer President and CEO Rob Speyer, light the 2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, in New York. The lit tree will be on display starting Thursday, December 3, through early January 2021 and will also will be livestreamed each day from 8 am to midnight at rockefellercenter.com. (AP)
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