# The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Is Set for Wednesday Night: Your Guide to the Event > The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting is back with fresh sparkle. Here's when to go and how to catch all the highlights up close. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/zazhzhenye-rozhdestvenskoi-elky-v-rokfellere-naznacheno-na-vecher-sred-vash-hyd-po-sobtyiu/ - Language: en - Published: 2026-01-13 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Leisure, USA, Parties, Events --- It's almost an understatement to say that winter holiday traditions carry enormous weight in New York City. And after last year's scaled-back events, they mean even more right now. Last week's headliner was the annual Thanksgiving Day parade. This week, another holiday light promises to shine even brighter in 2021. It's time for the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, and the in-person festivities kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday and run until 10 p.m. Here's what you need to know, whether you're heading down there or tuning in on TV, along with a few fun facts about the tree: ## Watching the Ceremony Live To see the tree lighting in person, make your way to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, also known as 30 Rock. It's part of Rockefeller Center, a complex of 19 commercial buildings between 48th and 51st Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan. Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Department of Transportation and the New York City Police Department announced that pedestrian space will be temporarily expanded on the streets around Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall. The crowds are expected to be among the biggest in Manhattan since the start of the pandemic, and officials are encouraging people to use public transit. You can get there by a range of subway routes and short walks: the B/D/F/M, 1 and 6 trains, as well as the N/Q/R. Tonight's forecast calls for temperatures around 44 degrees Fahrenheit (6.7 Celsius) and cloudy skies. The National Weather Service says there's a 50% chance of rain after 10 p.m., so keep a close eye on the sky as you head out. ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-241-1-2025.jpg) If you miss the lighting ceremony, you're not out of luck. The tree will be lit daily from 6 a.m. to midnight, according to the Rockefeller Tree Lighting website. On Christmas Day, the tree will stay lit for 24 hours. On New Year's Eve, it will be lit from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. A date for taking the tree down hasn't been set yet. Because this event is held outdoors, there are no mask or vaccination requirements this year, a Rockefeller Center spokesperson said in an email. In 2020, small groups, short viewing windows and scheduled appointments were in place as pandemic precautions. ## On Television If you can't be there in person, you can still catch the spectacle. NBC will broadcast the lighting nationally in its special program "Christmas in Rockefeller Center." It airs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET/PT on Wednesday. It will also stream live simultaneously on NBC's new streaming service, Peacock. You can also watch it on streaming services that carry NBC. The hosts will be "Today" show co-anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin. NBC says the performers for this special will include Alessia Cara, Harry Connick Jr., Mickey Guyton, Norah Jones, Brad Paisley, Rob Thomas, Carrie Underwood and the Radio City Rockettes. ## Fun Facts About the Tree ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-241-2-2025.jpg) This year's tree hails from Elkton, Maryland, and it arrived at Rockefeller Center on November 13. It's about 85 years old. The annual tree has a rich history. The first tree went up in 1931, when the Great Depression was plunging the city (and the rest of the country) into crisis. Workers lucky enough to have jobs lined up beneath it to collect their pay. Ceremonies around the tree became an annual event in 1933. The lighting ceremony was first broadcast on national television in 1951. The tallest tree came in 1999. It stood 100 feet tall and arrived from Killingworth, Connecticut. In 2001, the plaza became a place of comfort for the city and the nation after the September 11 attacks, with the tree decorated in red, white and blue. Beyond delighting the wave of people who pass by it each year, the tree also serves a more practical purpose. After it comes down in early January, the tree is donated to Habitat for Humanity and turned into lumber for homes. A few more fun facts about the 2021 tree from Rockefeller Center: - The tree is a 79-foot (24-meter) Norway spruce. It's 46 feet (13.7 meters) wide and weighs 12 tons. - It carries more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights on roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) of wire. - The Swarovski star on top weighs about 900 pounds (408 kilograms) and has 70 spikes covered in 3 million crystals.