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Photos, Video: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Dazzles
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 1, 2010
Modified Dec 13, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 1, 2010
Modified Dec 13, 2010
Share
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Last night, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree's tens of thousands LED lights were switched on, much to the excitement of the Midtown crowd gathered for the annual event. Who flipped the switch? Why, Mayor Bloomberg, outgoing NBC President Jeff Zucker and Rockefeller Center landlord Jerry Speyer of Tishman Speyer. And, as Bloomberg promised, it was perfectly safe.
A number of performers helped ring in the tree lighting—Jessica Simpson, Kylie Minogue, Josh Groban, and Sheryl Crow sang. There was a technical hiccup during singer Charice's performance of "Jingle Bell Rock" (video) where a track with vocals for Boyz II Men's song played.
The tree is illuminated between 5:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. every day and all day on Christmas Day. Some more fun facts from the Daily News: "700 lights were used during Rockefeller Center's first official tree-lighting ceremony in 1933. Today, 30,000 multi-colored LED lights wrapped on 5 miles of wire make the iconic tree glow. 2.5 million spectators visit the tree each year. The tree drinks up to 90 gallons of water a day at the outset, which lessens over time."
Tagged
christmas tree
mayor bloomberg
rockefeller center
tree lighting
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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