Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting 2021: How To Watch

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The tree has been cut down, the ornaments hung, and the streets closed off: now, all that's left to do is light up this year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, in a ceremony set for Wednesday evening.

The 2021 tree was chopped down earlier this month in a family's yard in Elkton, Maryland. The 79-foot-tall, roughly 85-year-old Norway spruce then made the journey into Midtown, where it was installed in Rockefeller Plaza on Nov. 13.

After being decked out with 50,000 multicolored LED lights and topped with a 900-pound Swarovski star, the tree will be lit Wednesday in a ceremony that will air live on NBC starting at 8 p.m. (The actual lighting typically happens closer to 10 p.m.)

It may not be advisable to try to see the tree that night, as the weather will be chilly and only a limited number of people will be allowed into Rockefeller Plaza to watch live.

The good news is the tree will remain in place for an unspecified number of weeks — and the city has taken steps to improve the visitor experience by closing off nearby streets to car traffic.

A behind the scenes look at our Swarovski star...and the 3 million crystals it’s covered in ✨⁣
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(📸: IG kathrynbrody) pic.twitter.com/lng0WgaKoY
— Rockefeller Center (@rockcenternyc) November 23, 2021

Since last week, 49th and 50th streets have been opened up to pedestrians between Fifth and Sixth avenues from 11 a.m. to midnight each day. A combined three lanes of traffic along those two avenues have also been temporarily handed over to pedestrians between 58th and 52nd streets.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said the opened-up streets would help "create a safe, spacious, and welcoming environment" for the throngs of people flocking to see the tree, go to shows at Radio City Music Hall, and gawk at holiday displays in nearby shops like Saks Fifth Avenue.

This year's Christmas tree will be lit up each day from 6 a.m. to midnight, including 24 hours straight on Christmas Day. Last year, the city imposed a strict five-minute viewing window to see the tree as a COVID-19 safety measure, but no such rule appears to be in effect this year.

Another change from last year: there's no indication that a tiny owl has once again hidden itself inside the branches of the pine tree.

The first-ever tree lighting was held in 1933, two years after the construction workers building Rockefeller Center put up the first Christmas tree. The ceremony first aired on national television in 1951.

Related tree coverage:

• 2021 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Arrives: What To Know
• Streets Near Rockefeller Center To Block Cars For Holidays: Mayor
• New Yorkers Want To Block Rockefeller Center Streets: Survey
• Pedestrianize Rockefeller Center Again For Holidays, Pols Say