Photo: Eric Liebowitz/NBC
"Christmas in Rockerfeller Center"
Wednesday, November 28 at 8 PM ET/PT on NBC
The most wonderful time of the year kicks off with the annual lighting of New York City’s famous tree on NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center®. The evening will include festive performances by Diana Ross, Tony Bennett & Diana Krall, Brett Eldredge, Darci Lynne Farmer, Diana Krall, John Legend, Martina McBride, Pentatonix and Kellie Pickler, with a special appearance by Howie Mandel. NBC’s “Today” anchors Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will co-host the highly anticipated holiday special.
Brett Eldredge performs during the 2017 Christmas In Rockefeller Center -- (Photo by: Eric Liebowitz/NBC)The tradition of the Rockefeller Christmas tree dates back to the Great Depression. First erected in 1931, the inaugural tree was decked with 700 lights and placed in front of the then eight-month-old RCA Building (the current Comcast Building). The Christmas tree gathering was enhanced in 1936 with the opening of the Rockefeller Plaza outdoor ice-skating pond. NBC-TV televised the tree lighting for the first time in 1951.
Treelighting at the 2017 Christmas In Rockefeller Center -- (Photo by: Eric Liebowitz/NBC)
The 86th annual holiday special will celebrate the lighting of a 72-foot tall, 45-foot wide Norway Spruce from Wallkill, N.Y. The tree weighs approximately 12 tons and is approximately 75 years old. It will be adorned with more than 50,000 multi-colored LEDs on approximately five miles of wire and topped with a new Swarovski star designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. The new three-dimensional star is 9 feet 4 inches in diameter, weighs approximately 900 pounds and features 70 spikes covered in 3 million Swarovski crystals.