2020 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Viewing Details Released

Details were released today concerning the protocols to be used for those people interested in visiting and viewing the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in midtown Manhattan. This comes in response to concerns over the expected large crowds and the ability to comply with COVID-19 guidelines.

The Mayor yesterday announced a ticketing plan for viewing of the tree. We expect additional information to come in that regard.

The 2020/21 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree viewing guidelines, approved by New York State and New York City, will follow social distancing and capacity control protocols.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday, December 2 will be closed to the public.  The tree will be lit during a live national broadcast on NBC airing at 8 – 10 p.m.

Thursday, December 3, 2020 through early January 2021 tree viewing protocols:

TREE VIEWING ENTRANCES AND ZONES

• 49^th and 50^th Streets between 5^th and 6^th Avenues will be closed to vehicular traffic (limited loading dock access for Rockefeller Center tenants only).
• Tree viewing entrances located on 49^th and 50^th Streets at 5^th and 6^th Avenues ONLY.
• Dedicated tree viewing zones located on 49^th and 50^th Streets between 5^th and 6^th Avenues ONLY.
• The Rink at Rockefeller Center will be accessible on 49^th Street, between 5^th and 6^th Avenues.​

​​GENERAL RULES

• The Tree will be lit from 6 a.m. to midnight every day.
• Virtual queuing will be activated to manage lines. Guests can scan a QR code to see wait time and receive an SMS to return to the line.
• Five-minute tree viewing limit.
• Masks mandated at all times.​
• Six feet social distancing will be enforced.
• Guests will be directed to delineated pods, spaced six feet apart, with no more than four people in one pod. Groups of more than four people will be separated into two pods.​
• Center Plaza, where the tree is physically located, will be closed to the public.
• Entrance to tree viewing and social distancing will be managed by Tishman Speyer security.

RETAIL/TENANTS

• The Channel Gardens (gardens located between 49^th and 50^th Streets just west of 5^th Avenue) will be open for retail customers and tenants only, not open for tree viewing.
• Shops and restaurants in the Concourse can be accessed from 49^th and 50^th Streets.
• Rockefeller Center tenants will have regular access to their spaces with tenant ID.

This year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a 75-foot-tall, 45-foot-wide Norway spruce from Oneonta, New York. It is wrapped in 50,000 multi-colored LED lights and topped with a Swarovski crystal star.