Nov. 23 (UPI) — With characters inflated and participants gathering for the 91st annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the New York City Police Department says it has boosted security along the 2.6-mile route winding through Manhattan.
The parade starts at 9:00am and will be broadcast live on NBC.
More than 200,000 people are expected to line the streets as the hosts of NBC’s Today Show, Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker broadcast a procession expected to include 98 Degrees, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, JoJo Siwa and The Muppets, as well as a host of balloons depicting new and classic characters in between performances celebrating the United States.
Among the balloons expected to be seen on Thursday morning are the Pillsbury Doughboy, Angry Birds Red, Hello Kitty, Diary of a Wimpy Kid’s Greg Heffley, Elf on a Shelf and Charlie Brown.
Police started closing streets Wednesday in the city along the parade route in the second major event in New York since the Oct. 31 truck attack near the World Trade Center. The first, the New York City Marathon, went off with any problems.
As balloon were inflated Wednesday afternoon, the NYPD announced that for the first time this year it would restrict people from bringing large backpacks, coolers, alcoholic beverages, chairs and umbrellas, with officers screening people before they are allowed to enter the parade route.
The NYPD also said it would bring a team of Labrador retreivers who have completed the “Vapor Wake” program, an 18-month training program teaching the dogs to detect traces of explosives in large crowds. Police sharpshooters have been stationed along the route, and sanitation trucks filled with sand have also been positioned in sensitive areas.
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