NEW YORK – The annual lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is already scheduled, however, in this 2020, going to visit the most famous tree in the world will be different.
Official details will be announced Monday, but our sister network NBC New York learned that those who want to visit the tree this year will find: monitored entrances, lines where physical distance is implemented and limited time to take pictures.
Mayor Bill de Blasio teased some of the plans at his press conference Sunday. Like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which took place last week, the mayor says visiting the tree will be a small event.
“This is not a spectator event like it was in the past,” he said. “What we don’t want and can’t have are huge crowds of people that crowd there.”
Several streets surrounding Rockefeller Center could be closed again following steps taken last year to provide additional space and safety for visitors. The mayor paused Sunday before detailing exactly what the closings would look like this year.
The Rockefeller Center tree lighting event begins at 8:00 pm on Wednesday, December 2. Due to the restrictions of the pandemic and physical distancing, there will be no public access to the plaza for the lighting ceremony.
After the ceremony, the plaza will be open as usual, and the public will be able to see it fully illuminated from 6:00 am to midnight every day. On Christmas Day it will be illuminated for 24 hours. People should wear a mask and create memories from a safe physical distance.
Currently, the tree is being decorated with more than 50,000 multi-color LED lights strung on approximately 5 miles of wire. It will be topped with a three-dimensional star that weighs approximately 900 pounds and is covered in 3 million Swarovski crystals.
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