The 94th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 94th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade aired on NBC on November 26th, 2020 at 9 a.m. 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 retired Parade unit.

Balloons

With the exception of the Stars, Love Flies Up to the Sky, The Boss Baby and Red Titan from Ryan's World, the balloons were shown through pre-recorded footage from previous parades on the NBC broadcast either from 2017, 2018 and 2019.

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) - 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
Fleck, Bjorn Jojo and Hugg (Netflix) - 2nd time

Novelty Balloons

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

Balloonicles

Go Bowling* (GoBowling.com) - 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 & Conventions) - 3rd time
Everyone's Favorite Bake Shop (Entenmann's) - 4th time
Cruising Cupcakes (Macy's) - 1st 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 Office 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
”Give. Love. Believe.” Banner (Macy’s) - 1st time
Big Red Shoe Car (McDonald's) - 21st time
Staged Characters from Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's (Universal Orlando Resort) - 4th time

Toy Floats

Rocking Giraffe (Macy's) - 9th time
Rocking Flamingo (Macy's) - 4th time
Rocking Lobster (Macy's) - 31st time
Rocking Moose (Macy's) - 5th time
Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 64th time

Marching Bands

West Point Marching 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 & 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 Heros (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 How The Grinch Stole Christmas Live; performed "Whos Love Christmas"
New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Ashley Bouder (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)

Performance Groups

Zeta Phi Beta; performed "100 Yearz of Finer"
Coney Island USA's Mermaid Parade
Indigenous Ambassadors
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"
The 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

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 ongoing 2019-20 coronavirus 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 minute selection of elements 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.