How to watch the 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting

By Becca Wood
Don’t miss the 92nd Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting.

The Norway spruce, 74 feet tall and 43 feet wide, will be lit up for the annual holiday display at Rockefeller Center on December 4.

More than 50,000 multi-colored LED lights and a three-dimensional Swarovski star will decorate the tree.

The Albert family donated the West Stockbridge, Massachusetts tree.

Find out everything about the famous tree lighting ritual below.

How and where to see Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting

The tree lighting will take place above the Rink at Rockefeller Center between 49th and 50th Streets and 5th and 6th Avenues in New York City.

The Rockefeller Center location is free to the public, but visitors can buy tickets to be photographed with the tree. VIP tickets get you closer to the tree.

NBC and Peacock’s two-hour “Christmas at Rockefeller Center” live broadcast on Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. ET will feature the tree lighting for those watching from home. NBCUniversal, TODAY.com’s parent company, owns Peacock.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting is hosted by who?

TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, and Craig Melvin will join Kelly Clarkson in hosting.

Clarkson revealed on her talk program on Nov. 4 that she would host “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” which includes the tree lighting ceremony. This is her second year in the job.

“I’m excited, I’ll dress warm again,” she added on her show.

Clarkson promised “the best music, star-studded surprises and, of course, the lighting of the world-famous Christmas tree that is so special.”

“I don’t know why, but it’s so beautiful when you’re standing there and I just, I don’t know, I was all the sudden in a Charlie Brown movie and it was magical,” she remarked of hosting the event last year

Which artists will play at Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting?

In addition to hosting, Clarkson will perform.

According to NBC, the Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Hudson, Dan + Shay, Megan Hilty, Thalia, the Queen of Latin Pop, and others will perform at the holiday party.

What’s Rockefeller Center without the Rockettes? The popular and amazing dancing ensemble will also perform with strong kicks and Christmas enthusiasm.

When is the Rockefeller Christmas tree illuminated daily?

Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit daily 5 a.m. to midnight.

Christmas Eve will have the tree lit for 24 hours, while New Year’s Eve will have it lit from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m.

How long is the Rockefeller Christmas tree up?

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree will remain on display until mid-January 2025. The tree will be cut down and processed into lumber for Habitat for Humanity.

Why is the Rockefeller Christmas tree significant?

According to Rockefeller Center’s website, workers and their family adorned a 20-foot balsam fir for the inaugural Christmas tree in December 1931.

The inaugural tree lighting was in December 1933 and became an annual ritual.

Two trees were planted at Rockefeller Center in December 1936, the same year the Plaza ice skating rink debuted.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the tree grew larger and required more workers to adorn.

The largest Rockefeller Center tree, 100 feet tall from Killingworth, Connecticut, debuted in December 1999.

A three-dimensional, 900-pound Swarovski star will top the tree this year, following a 550-pound star in 2004.

What makes this year’s tree special?

Earl Albert of West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, donated the 11-ton, 70-year-old 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

Earl Albert and Leslie planted the tree in 1967. Earl Albert claimed in an early November interview that he wanted their tree to be the 2024 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree to honor his wife.

In an interview, Rockefeller Center head gardener Erik Pauze claimed he is thinking about this year’s tree for almost four years.

The 2020 Tree process began in July. I got gas after midnight tree seeking. I saw the gorgeous Norway Spruce in front of me as I went down the road, Pauze stated in the interview. I knocked and met Earl Albert. I asked if he would donate the Tree to Rockefeller Center. He said yes immediately.”

Pauze carefully cared for the enormous spruce after choosing it.

“In spring of this year, I called Earl and asked if I could start feeding and watering it,” he stated. “I arrived often to feed the Tree, and every time I got out of the car, I smiled and knew it was right for Rockefeller Center.”

The Albert family told TODAY.com on Nov. 13 that Earl had recently had a stroke but was still “looking forward to the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, and working hard to be able to attend in person.”