NYC Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting is Wednesday: Here’s how to watch

The 2021 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is a 79-foot tall, 12-ton Norway Spruce from Elkton, Md. The tree will be decorated with 50,000 lights and lit for the season on Wednesday, Dec. 1. (Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Tishman Speyer) 

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year!

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a worldwide symbol of the holidays, will be lit for the first time on Wednesday, Dec. 1, with live performances at Rockefeller Plaza.

The 79-foot-tall, 12-ton Norway Spruce, from Elkton, Md., arrived by flatbed at Rockefeller Center earlier this month. Since then, workers have been wrapping the 85-year-old tree with more than 50,000 multi-colored, energy-efficient LED lights in anticipation of the tree lighting.

The tree is crowned with a Swarovski star, which was designed by architect Daniel Libeskind in 2018. The three-dimensional star weighs approximately 900 pounds and features 70 spikes covered in 3 million crystals. The tree is displayed between West 49th and 50th streets and Fifth and Sixth avenues.

The tree lighting event is free and open to the public. Or you can view the live national broadcast, “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” from home on NBC from 7 to 10 p.m.

The tree lighting will feature special live performances, including Alessia Cara, Carrie Underwood, Harry Connick Jr., Brad Paisley, Mickey Guyton, Norah Jones, and Rob Thomas. The stage will also welcome the Radio City Rockettes.

The tree will be lit daily, from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., throughout the holiday season. On Christmas Day, the tree will be lit for 24 hours, and on New Year’s Eve it will be lit from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. It will be on display until Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. After the tree is taken down, it will be donated to Habitat for Humanity for the 14th consecutive year as lumber to build homes.

The tree was donated by Devon and Julie Price. After the couple heard a knock on their door, Devon led a mystery guest around the property to show off the Norway Spruce, and it became clear that the biggest tree on the property might be destined for greatness. That mystery visitor was Erik Pauze, head gardener at Rockefeller Center. Pauze had spotted the tree from afar when driving around the area earlier this year in his perpetual search for the perfect tree.

The Prices have lived in the same house since they moved to Elkton 30 years ago. They own a few acres of land right on the Delaware-Pennsylvania-Maryland border, overflowing with the strong, sturdy Norway Spruce trees that have become synonymous with the Christmas season.

“We never considered that our tree would be the one on display for the world to see at Rockefeller Center,” Devon shared. “It truly is quite the honor.”