The 136th Annual Rose Parade has begun, marching through 8.8 miles of Pasadena streets in front of an expected New Year’s Day crowd of hundreds of thousands.
The parade will be broadcast on networks such as ABC, NBC, KTLA and Univision, and streamed on platforms such as YouTube, Fubo and Pluto TV.
In celebration of this year’s parade theme, “The Greatest Day Ever,” dozens of floats, marching bands and equestrian groups will cross Colorado Boulevard through the heart of Old Pasadena. The parade will be followed by the Rose Bowl game between the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State Buckeyes.
The parade began hours after a pickup truck driver plowed through a crowd in New Orleans’ French Quarter, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 30 in a suspected terrorist attack.
At about 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, a man attacked a crowd along Bourbon Street, which was busy with New Year’s Eve revelers and city tourists watching the Sugar Bowl college football game at the nearby Superdome. I drove my car into it. New Orleans Police Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick said the driver was “desperate to cause carnage and cause damage.”
Pasadena city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian told the Times early Wednesday that the Rose Parade route has “very strong vehicle barriers” in place and there are more than 1,000 law enforcement officers in the city. spoke.
Crowds line Colorado Boulevard. Early morning before the 136th Rose Bowl Parade.
(Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles Times)
“This is a top-rated federal event and has been for years, so we have federal, state, county and city resources, and we’re in Pasadena for a few days, tonight’s parade and the game. I will stay until the end,” Derderian said.
“We want to ensure the public that we are taking every precaution,” she added. “We’re confident that we’re ready for this parade and this game, but with that in mind, we’re also sympathetic to what the state of Louisiana is going through.”
Derderian said a woman drove her car into one of the barricades along Colorado Boulevard during last year’s Rose Parade.
“She could have easily hurt or killed someone,” Derderian said. “She had a history of mental illness and was told not to cross the line, so she didn’t listen and kept driving, revving the engine. The barrier stopped her.”
“We extend our deepest condolences to the people of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans following this morning’s tragic events,” Tournament of Roses officials said in a statement Wednesday.
“We stand in solidarity with the entire state during this difficult time.”
For the fourth year in a row, Louisiana will feature floats in the Rose Parade. This year’s float, dubbed “Louisiana Saturday Night,” features a giant alligator wearing a beaded necklace, carrying a Cajun dance hall and a pot of boiling seafood on its back.
Mark Garcia, a retired firefighter from Contra Costa County who camped overnight along Colorado Boulevard with his family, said while he was saddened by the news in New Orleans, “I don’t think it’s any safer than along the Rose Parade route Wednesday morning.” I never felt that way,” he said.
“Two or three police officers were patrolling this block all night,” Garcia, 58, said, adding that he was relieved by the “large police presence.”
Bryce Murphy (left) and his sister Charlotte Murphy of Rancho Cucamonga, accompanied by their grandmother Roseann Ochoa, spend the hours before the parade on their cell phones.
(Allen J. Scherben/Los Angeles T)
Garcia, who lives in Danville, was participating in the parade for the second year in a row. He staked out the campsite at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, made friends with other campers and was in good spirits despite only getting three hours of sleep.
“It’s really a great sight to see so many people together. Everyone feels really good,” Garcia said. “It’s a really great event. It’s quite a bit of work.”
A few blocks away, Pasadena resident Angel Gutierrez gathered around a makeshift bonfire with his family before the parade began.
Gutierrez also said he preferred camping for a full day and night rather than claiming a spot early Tuesday and paying up to $125 each for grandstand seats that fill up weeks in advance.
“I hate to say it, but the stands are for boring people,” Gutierrez said with a laugh. “Here you get to talk to different people and get a whole range of experiences.”
Gutierrez has been coming to the parade for about 20 years, and his 10-year-old son, Ronnie Plasencia, has been participating since he was a toddler.
“This is to get the year off to a good start,” Ronnie said.
He added: “My New Year’s resolution is to help homeless people find housing.”
The grand marshal of this year’s Rose Parade is tennis icon and gender equality activist Billie Jean King. He won Wimbledon 20 times and Grand Slams 39 times, and his 1973 televised “Battle of the Sexes” match drew 90 million viewers worldwide. She defeated former United States tennis champion Bobby Riggs.
“It felt like a dream come true,” King, a Long Beach native, said when he was announced as the parade’s grand marshal in October.
“When I was a kid, the annual Tournament of Roses Parade was a big deal in our house. We talked about it all year long,” said King, 81. I was looking forward to it.”
The 2021 Rose Parade has been canceled for the first time since World War II due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Audience numbers declined again in 2022, but attendance has increased since then.
Candy Carlson, a spokeswoman for the Tournament of Roses, said in a statement to the Times that about 750,000 people will be lining the route in 2024, compared to about 700,000 in 2022, the same crowd size as before the pandemic. He said this shows that there is a “significant return” to the market.
“The consistent increase in participation numbers highlights the enduring appeal of the Rose Parade and the joy it brings to our community and visitors from around the world,” she said. “We are confident that this year’s parade will continue to draw a lively and enthusiastic audience.”
The Rose Bowl, currently the quarterfinal of the College Football Playoff, will be broadcast nationally on ESPN, with pregame festivities starting at 1pm PT and kickoff scheduled for 2pm PT.
Susan and Leo Caviness, who traveled from Ohio to watch their son’s Ohio State University marching band perform along the parade route, said they didn’t mind Pasadena’s 50-degree morning temperature. The attendees can be said to be cold.
“Actually, I’m hot!” Susan Caviness said with a laugh.