NEW YORK — One of the world’s most famous trees is ready to shine and sparkle once again.
A tradition spanning over nine decades, the annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center tree lighting special will air Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT on NBC.
Emmy and Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson will, for the first time, pull double duty at the annual two-hour holiday affair.
Hailing from Vestal, New York, this year's Rockefeller Christmas tree stands 80 feet tall and weighs about 12 tons. The tree has been decorated with 50,000 LED lights and a Swarovski star.
Clarkson will host NBC’s Christmas special and also deliver festive performances – all from the spot that is now also home to her talk show “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” This year marks the 20th anniversary of Clarkson's first “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” performance, and she has performed a handful of times since.
“Today” anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will also join the tree lighting live from Manhattan. This year's ceremony will also stream on Peacock for the third time.
2023 Rockefeller Christmas tree
“I’m so excited to consider this city and Rockefeller Center my new home, and I can’t imagine a better way to kick off Christmas this year than to be a part of this beautiful New York tradition with the lighting of the tree!” Clarkson said.
“The lighting of that magnificent tree at Rockefeller Center is one of the true joys of the holiday season and to have Kelly both host and perform feels like we’re getting our Christmas presents early this year,” said Jen Neal, Executive Vice President, Live Events and Specials, NBCUniversal Media Group.
The tradition of the Rockefeller Christmas tree dates back more than 90 years to 1931 during the Great Depression.
The first official tree-lighting ceremony occurred two years later in 1933 in front of the then eight-month-old RCA Building (the current Comcast Building).
The Christmas tree gathering was enhanced in 1936 with the opening of the Rockefeller Plaza outdoor ice-skating rink.
NBC-TV televised the tree lighting for the first time in 1951 on “The Kate Smith Show” and as part of the nationwide “Howdy Doody” television show from 1953-55.
In 2022, the tree was a 82-foot-tall, 50-foot-wide Norway spruce from Queensbury, New York.
In 2021, the Rockefeller Christmas tree was a 79-foot-tall, 46-foot-wide Norway spruce from Elkton, Maryland.
In 2020, the Center's tree received worldwide attention after a worker setting up the tree discovered a northern saw-whet owl inside. The owl, dubbed Rockefeller, made the 170-mile journey from upstate New York to the Big Apple in the tree.
The bird was taken to the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in the Hudson Valley, where she dined on mice before returning to the wild. The center said the northern saw-whet owl is one of the smallest in the northeast.
The owl was honored with her own Frontier Airlines' plane tail as well as a children's book.
Rockefeller tree owl of 2020
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