The 94th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 93rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 94th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 95th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 94th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade aired on NBC on November 26th, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST. It was hosted by Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker. Participating celebrities included Dolly Parton, Darlene Love, Patti LaBelle, Pentatonix, Bebe Rexha and Brett Young.

Parade Lineup

Listed below are the Parade units that appeared in the 2020 line of march. Each unit is listed in several categories and sub-categories, in addition to the unit's sponsor.

Bold indicates a new Parade unit, and * indicates a unit retired after the 2020 procession.

Balloons

Giant Balloons

Red Titan from "Ryan's World" (Sunlight Entertainment and pocket.watch) - 1st time
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams Children's Books) - 5th time
Chase from PAW Patrol (Spin Master and Nickelodeon) - 4th time
SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary (Nickelodeon) - 2nd time
Trolls* (DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures) - 5th time
Ronald McDonald* (McDonald's) - 6th time
Pikachu* (The Pokémon Company International) - 7th time
Astronaut Snoopy (Peanuts Worldwide) - 2nd time
The Boss Baby (DreamWorks Animation and Universal Studios) - 1st time
Sinclair's DINO (Sinclair Oil Corporation) - 6th time
Pillsbury Doughboy (Pillsbury) - 7th time
The Elf on the Shelf* (The Lumistella Company) - 9th time

Heritage Balloons

Love Flies Up to the Sky* (Yayoi Kusama) - 2nd time
Smokey Bear (United States Department of Agriculture - Forest Service) - 2nd time
The Nutcracker* (Universal Orlando Resort) - 3rd time
Hugg, Bjorn, Jojo and Fleck* (Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two) - 2nd time

Novelty Balloons

Opening Macy's Stars (Macy's) - 3rd time
"Believe" Stars (Macy's) - 5th time

Balloonicles

Go Bowling (Go Bowling) - 3rd time
Baby DINOs (Sinclair Oil Corporation) - 3rd time

Floats

Tom Turkey (Macy's) - 3rd time
Big Turkey Spectacular (Jennie-O) - 1st time
Blue's Clues & You! (Nickelodeon) - 2nd time
Splashing Safari Adventure* (Kalahari Resorts and Conventions) - 3rd time
Everyone's Favorite Bake Shop (Entenmann's) - 4th time
Tom & Jerry's Tourist Trap* (Warner Bros. Pictures) - 1st time
Rexy in the City (COACH) - 2nd time
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles* (Nickelodeon) - 3rd time
Her Future Is STEM-Sational (Olay) - 1st time
Toy House of Marvelous Milestones (New York Life) - 2nd time
Harvest in the Valley (Green Giant) - 4th time
Mount Rushmore's American Pride (South Dakota Department of Tourism) - 11th time
The Brick-Changer (The LEGO Group) - 2nd time
Christmas in Town Square (Lifetime) - 1st time
Central Park* (Delta Air Lines) - 11th time
Heartwarming Holiday Countdown (Hallmark Channel) - 6th time
Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 12th time

Specialty Units

NYPD Highway Patrol Motorcycle Unit - 36th time
Macy's Starlets (Macy's) - 3rd time
”Give. Love. Believe.” Banner (Macy’s) - 1st time
Cruising Cupcakes* (Macy's) - 1st time
Big Red Shoe Car (McDonald's) - 21st time

Toy Floats

Rocking Giraffe (Macy's) - 10th time
Rocking Flamingo (Macy's) - 4th time
Rocking Lobster (Macy's) - 31st time
Rocking Moose (Macy's) - 5th time
Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 61st time

Marching Bands

West Point Band, performed "The Hellcats," "This is My Country," and "The Army Goes Rolling Along"
NYPD Marching Band, performed "God Bless America"
The FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, performed "America the Beautiful"
Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Marching Band, performed "Dancing Queen"

Guest Stars

Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, performed "Dancing in the Streets"
America's Frontline Workers (Tom Turkey)
Bebe Rexha, sang "Baby, I'm Jealous" (Big Turkey Spectacular)
Ally Brooke, sang "We Are A Family" (Blues Clues & You)
AJR, sang "Bang!" (Splashing Safari Adventure)
Sofia Carson, sang "Guess I'm a Liar" (Everyone's Favorite Bake Shop)
Keke Palmer, sang "Dreamcatcher" (Rexy in the City)
Ronald McDonald and Grimace (Big Red Shoe Car)
Miss America 2020 Camille Schrier
CNCO, sang "Tan Enamorados" (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Karol G, sang "Ay, DiOs Mío!" and "Tusa" (Her Future is STEM-Sational)
Darlene Love, sang "A Marshmallow World" (Toy House of Marvelous Milestones)
Brett Young, sang "Here Tonight" (Harvest in the Valley)
Lauren Alaina, sang "Run" (Mount Rushmore's American Pride)
Patti LaBelle, sang "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
Goo Goo Dolls, sang "This Is Christmas" (The Brick-Changer)
Dolly Parton, sang "Holly Jolly Christmas"
Tori Kelly, sang "25th" (Christmas in Town Square)
Matthew Morrison and the Cast of Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!, performed "Who Loves Christmas?"
New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Ashley Bouder, performed "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" (Central Park)
Pentatonix, sang "My Favorite Things" (Heartwarming Holiday Countdown)
Macy's Singing Christmas Tree Choir, sang "We Believe"
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus (Santa's Sleigh)

Specialty Characters

Performance Groups

Zeta Phi Beta Centennial Steppers, performed "100 Yearz of Finer"
Coney Island USA's Mermaid Parade
Indigenous Ambassadors, presented a Land Acknowledgement
West Indian American Day Carnival Association, performed "CaribFuturism: LOVE. CULTURE. PEOPLE"
Pikachu Dance Performance, performed "Gotta Catch 'Em All"
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade, performed "La Bamba"
Big Apple Circus, performed "Meet Me at the Circus"
The Radio City Rockettes, performed "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers"

Clowns

Corny-Copia Clowns - 16th time
Turkey Tech Players & Sports Fans - 10th time
Funny Flurry Clowns - 2nd time
Half-Baked Holiday Sweets - 13th time
City Tourist Clowns - 6th time
Toy Blocks* - 4th time
Nutty-Cracker Ballet Clowns - 10th time

Stilt Walkers

Statue of Liberty - 3rd time
Chrysler Building & Empire State Building* - 3rd time
Entenmann’s Bakers - 4th time
Lumberjacks - 1st time
Candy Canes - 10th time
Snowflakes - 6th time
Candy Cadet* - 1st time
Candy Girl* - 2nd time
Christmas Trees* - 6th time
Candy Puppets* - 2nd time
Toy Soldiers - 18th time

Broadway Musicals

Hamilton, performed "The Schuyler Sisters"
Jagged Little Pill, performed "You Learn"
Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations, performed "My Girl" and "Get Ready"
Mean Girls: The Musical, performed "Somebody Gets Hurt"

Changes

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade underwent several modifications in order to ensure safety for participants. Listed below are several changes that were implemented for the 2020 Parade.

The traditional 2.5-mile Parade route was not utilized, with the only way to view the celebration being on television.
All participants, staff and performers were tested for COVID-19 and underwent wellness checks prior to their Parade participation.
All participants were appropriately socially distanced during staging and performances, and required to wear face coverings; additional personal protective protocols were implemented based on the participant’s role.
The overall number of participants were reduced by approximately 88%, and split over three days.
No participant in the Parade was under 18 years of age.
The majority of Parade participants hailed from the New York tri-state area.
Previously selected regional High School and College Marching Band performances were deferred to the 2021 Macy's Parade, with locally based cultural and professional marching and musical ensembles taking over performance duties in the lineup.
A selection of balloons (with the exception of an Opening Macy's Star, Red Titan, The Boss Baby, Love Flies Up to the Sky and a Red "Believe" Star) were showcased on television from previous Parade appearances.
A selection of Macy's signature giant character balloons were flown without the traditional 80-100 handlers and instead employ an innovative, specially rigged anchor vehicle framework of five specialty vehicles tested and approved by the NYC Department of Transportation and the NYPD.
Macy's traditional Giant Balloon Inflation public event in New York City, the evening before Thanksgiving, did not take place.
60 members of the Macy's Singing Christmas Tree Choir were invited back to virtually perform an original Christmas carol, composed by Judith Clurman.

In the weeks leading up to the Parade, several elements were also pulled from the lineup in order to further reduce the amount of participants, following rising cases of COVID-19 throughout the New York area. The elements cut included:

Novelty Balloons: Acorn, Americana Spheres, Arrtle the Pirate, Blue & White Macy's Stars, Red & Green Candy Cane, Harold the Fireman, Macy's Pride Stars, Opening Macy's Stars #1 and #2, Poinsettia Ornaments, Pumpkins, Santa Starflakes, Snow Crystal Ornaments and Wiggle Worm.

Floats: 1-2-3 Sesame Street by Sesame Workshop, Cornucopia by Macy's, Deck the Halls by Balsam Hill, Fantasy Chocolate Factory by Kinder, Patriotic Top Hat by Macy's, Rocking Lion, Rocking Tortoise, Snoopy's Doghouse by Peanuts Worldwide and Winning Winter Together by MassMutual/NHL.

Performers: Sebastián Yatra (The Brick-Changer), Ella Mai (Fantasy Chocolate Factory), Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus (Winning Winter Together), Jordin Sparks (Splashing Safari Adventure) and Leslie Odom Jr. (Toy House of Marvelous Milestones).

Clown Units: Aviator Clowns, Birthday Party Clowns, Breakfast Clowns, Circus Clowns, Fire Truck Clown Vehicle, Funny Farm Clowns, Hoedown Clowns, Funny Firefighter Brigade Clowns, Half-Baked Delivery Truck, Holiday Clowns, Jester Clowns, Nutty Professor Einsteins & Wacky Graduates, Parade Brigade Clowns, Pirate Clowns, Produce Wagons, Safari Clowns, Santa's Toy Box Clowns, Silly Seaside Clowns & Sea Creatures, Sleepy Clowns, Springtime Clowns, Taxi Cab of Clowns, Wedding Bell-Y Laffs Limo Service Clowns and Wintertime Clowns.