What to know
- The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center will be lit tonight, an annual holiday tradition in New York City.
- The lighting will be shown live on the "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" special starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
- For the second year in a row, Kelly Clarkson will host the star-studded special, which will feature performances by the Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Hudson and more, plus the Radio City Rockettes.
- NBC News' "TODAY" anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will also make an appearance.
See how the White House is decked out for Christmas
The White House is ready for the holidays now that its famed Christmas decorations have gone up. This year, the White House is decorated in a theme of peace and light.
Eighty-three Christmas trees, 9,810 feet of ribbon, over 28,125 ornaments and over 2,200 doves line the hallways and adorn the rooms of the White House, signaling those in the nation's capital that it is time to spread holiday cheer.
The White House could rival Rockfeller's famed tree when it comes to Christmas decorations. Over 165,075 holiday lights are used to decorate the White House trees, garlands, wreaths and displays.
And the Gingerbread White House looks even better than the real thing. It includes 25 sheets of gingerbread dough, 10 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 45 pounds of chocolate and 50 pounds of royal icing.
Over 300 volunteers from across the U.S. worked for a full week to get the White House ready for Christmas.
"It has been the honor of our lives to serve as your President and First Lady," President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden wrote in a welcome letter in the White House Holiday Guide. "Our hope is for the Nation to be blessed with the peace and light of the holiday season. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays."
Who will perform at the tree lighting?
The ceremony will feature performances by the Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Hudson, the country duo Dan + Shay, Broadway star Megan Hilty, Thalia, known as the Queen of Latin Pop, and more, NBC said in a statement.
The high-kicking Radio City Rockettes, star of the annual “Christmas Spectacular” at adjacent Radio City Music Hall, will also perform, the network said.
Kelly Clarkson made her first tree lighting appearance 21 years ago
Clarkson, who is hosting tonight's special, made her tree lighting debut 21 years ago as a performer at the event.
Since then, she has been a performer/musical guest at the tree lighting a number of times.
Clarkson noted the milestone when she announced on the "Kelly Clarkson Show” last year that she would be hosting the 2024 tree lighting.
“I am stoked to reveal that I am getting the chance to do it again and this time at my new home at 30 Rock,” she said at the time. Filming for the show moved from Los Angeles to New York last year.
In addition to her hosting duties, Clarkson is expected to perform throughout tonight’s two-hour special.
Clarkson won the first season of "American Idol" in 2002, a year before her tree lighting debut.
It will be a chilly night at Rockefeller Plaza
The weather for the tree lighting ceremony tonight is forecast to be cold, cloudy and windy.
The temperature will be right around 40 degrees at the start, then fall into the upper 30s during the night. Wind gusts up to 25 mph will make it feel more like the low 30s. A few showers may develop by the end of the ceremony.
The story behind this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree
The Massachusetts family donating this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree shared the story behind its special connection to the giant spruce.
Earl Albert honored his late wife, Leslie, by donating a huge Norway spruce tree from the couple’s West Stockbridge yard to be the 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
Albert said he and his wife planted the Norway spruce in 1967, when they were newlyweds.
The majestic tree, which was only waist-high when the couple put it into the ground, grew to be 74 feet tall over the next 57 years — making it the ideal height to stand adorned with Christmas lights in Rockefeller Plaza.
This year's tree hails from Massachusetts — the first since 1959
This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree hails from West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in the Southern Berkshires region — the first tree from the state since 1959.
It stands 74 feet tall and weighs roughly 11 tons, according to Rockefeller Center. NBC said it is 43 feet wide.
The tree, which was cut down on Nov. 7 and arrived at 30 Rock on Nov. 9, is 70 years old.
Once lit, the tree will boast more than 50,000 multicolor lights on about 5 miles of wire.
On top will be the same Swarovski crystal star that was designed in 2018, which weighs about 900 pounds, thanks to the 3 million crystals covering its 70 spikes.
Kelly Clarkson's been practicing her light switch skills
Illuminating the plaza at Rockefeller Center is no small task, but luckily New York City has Kelly Clarkson on the job.
Clarkson posted video today showcasing her rehearsals counting down from three and flipping switches around the building ahead of the night's events.
"Pfft, I'mma crush it," Clarkson said at the end.
Tree lighting still on after fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO in Midtown, NYPD says
The tree lighting is set to go on as scheduled after the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson this morning, police officials said.
Thompson, 50, was killed in what police described as a targeted, premeditated attack outside the Hilton hotel a few blocks from Rockefeller Center.
Police officials assured the public the tree lighting ceremony would go on as scheduled with a large police presence to ensure everyone's safety.
Plainclothes officers will be in the area, as well as members of the department's intelligence division, "to make sure people come out and have a good time," NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.
"And we’re going to have additional police officers in the subway, as well, so people can take mass transit to make it easier to travel into the city and enjoy the tree," Maddrey said.
Rockefeller Center has been lighting a Christmas tree since 1933
Rockefeller Center’s first Christmas tree lighting officially took place in 1933, but two years earlier, a group of Rockefeller Center workers all chipped in to buy a 20-foot tree for the area, decorated with homemade garlands, marking the first-ever tree.
The famed ice rink was introduced in 1936, along with two trees. But as World War II rolled in a few years later, tree decorations became more modest, and in 1942, three smaller trees were lit in lieu of one huge tree.
The 1950s brought the introduction of using scaffolding to decorate the tree — a process that required 20 men and nine days before the decade was out.
In 1997, the tree, which was from Stony Point, New York, traveled by barge down the Hudson River to 30 Rock. The next year’s tree, from Richfield, Ohio, was flown to New York City on the world’s largest transport plane.
Rockefeller Center’s largest-ever tree, 100 feet tall, stood on the plaza in 1999. And in 2001, people from around the world visited the tree, decorated in patriotic red, white and blue.
The first Swarovski crystal star topped Rockefeller Center’s tree in 2004. The one used today was created in 2018.
Before the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit for the season, New Yorkers are sharing their excitement for the holiday tradition. NBC New York's Marc Santia has some advice on the best spots to view the tree for the lighting ceremony and the days after.