In Pictures

In the US, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade marches on despite wind gusts

The 99th edition of the holiday tradition included new balloons representing characters like Buzz Lightyear and Pac-Man.

Spectators clad in turkey hats watch as balloons float down Sixth Avenue during the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 27 [Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP Photo]

By Al Jazeera Staff

Published On 27 Nov 202527 Nov 2025

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Marching bands, giant balloons and a holiday sleigh navigated through the canyons of high rises in New York City as the retailer Macy’s hosted its 99th Thanksgiving Day Parade.

On Thursday, the parade forged ahead in the United States despite the threat of strong winds.

In the lead-up to the annual tradition, the National Weather Service had warned of potential gusts of up to 35 miles per hour, equivalent to 56 kilometres (35 miles) per hour.

Powerful blasts of wind reaching 55km/h (34mph) could have grounded the event, as could sustained winds of 37km/h (23mph), per parade rules.

Those precautions were adopted after the 1997 edition of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, when fierce weather knocked a balloon representing the children’s book The Cat in the Hat into a light post.

The streetlamp snapped, hitting spectators watching the parade below. One 34-year-old woman was struck on the head and spent nearly a month in a coma.

As of 2025, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has only been cancelled three times, from 1942 to 1944, in an effort to conserve materials during World War II. It has never been cancelled due to the weather.

This year’s edition features 34 giant, helium-filled balloons, including new entries like the Disney character Buzz Lightyear, the video game character Pac-Man and the plumber Mario from the game Super Mario Bros.

The star of the Wicked film series Cynthia Erivo and singers from the Netflix hit K-Pop Demon Hunters made appearances as the parade’s 28 floats sailed down the street.

Macy’s estimates that 3.5 million people line the streets each year to see the parade, and more than 50 million watch the event’s broadcast.

The parade snakes across four kilometres (2.5 miles) in downtown New York, travelling along Central Park West and 6th Avenue to end in front of the Macy’s flagship store.

The widely watched event has also been a magnet for protests, with Palestinian solidarity demonstrators briefly blocking the parade route last year and in 2023 to draw attention to Israeli human rights abuses in Gaza and the West Bank.