NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The annual tree lighting at Rockefeller Center looked a little different this year amid the pandemic.
What’s normally a crowded holiday event was closed to the public on Wednesday. Instead, anyone who wanted to see the 75-foot Norway spruce lit up in multicolored lights for the first time had to watch from home.
NBC broadcasted the “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., when the tree was lit for the season.
Among those who performed at the event were Tori Kelly, Dan + Shay, Kelly Clarkson, Dolly Parton and Earth, Wind & Fire.
“TODAY Show” anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Craig Melvin and Al Roker hosted the festivities.
Following the lighting ceremony, the tree will be open to the public Thursday, Dec. 3 through early January 2021. However, anyone who wishes to see it up close this year will need to buy a ticket in advance.
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The tree will be lit from 6 a.m. to midnight every day and viewing rules and social distancing will be strictly enforced by a private security company.
Members of the NYPD and other agencies will be patrolling the area and the city will work as it has in previous years to make sure there’s ample space, including closing off some lanes of traffic, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Rockefeller Center first put up a Christmas tree in 1931 and it became an annual tradition in 1933. This year’s tree came from Oneonta.
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