NEW YORK (US) – Heralding the arrival of the holiday season in New York City, the customary giant Christmas tree made its entry on Saturday at the Rockfeller Centre.
The 75-foot (23-meter) tall Norway spruce arrived in the early morning hours accompanied by a police escort along the 185-mile (298-km) route from Oneonta, New York.
A lighting ceremony for the 11-ton tree is planned at Rockefeller Plaza for Dec. 2, according to NBC, whose headquarters stand in front of the plaza and which will televise the event.
In-person spectators will not be allowed at the ceremony, which usually draws hundreds of holiday well-wishers, this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the network said. However, visitors should be able to visit the tree during the holiday season.
The holiday cheer comes amid a resurgence in the pandemic. Coronavirus infections in the United States are at their peak, with 139,953 new cases reported each day. Since the pandemic began, there have been more than 10 million infections and over 244,000 COVID-19-related deaths in the United States.
Every year, the Rockefeller Center tree is decorated with thousands of lights on a five-mile-long (8-km-long) wire and topped with a large star. It is visited by millions of tourists and New York residents.
This year’s tree was donated by Daddy Al’s General Store in Oneonta.