The 2026 New Year’s Day Rose Parade is returning to NBC for the 99th time. Coverage of the annual New Year’s Day parade, held each year in Pasadena, California, will take place on January 1, 2026. This year’s parade will be co-hosted for the first time by “TODAY” co-anchor Craig Melvin. For all the details on where to watch this year, check out our 2026 Rose Parade spoilers below.
How to Watch the 2026 Rose Parade
The Rose Parade 2026 will take place from 11 a.m. ET until 1 p.m. ET on January 1, 2026. The 2026 coverage of the Rose Parade will feature Craig Melvin for the first time.
He will be joined by Rose Parade veterans Hoda Kotb and Al Roker. This will be Hoda’s 11th time co-hosting the parade, and it will be Roker’s 27th time.
If you want to tune into the Rose Parade today, it will air on NBC and Telemundo. Viewers will also be able to stream the parade on Peacock.
The Rose Parade announced that there would be a livestream available for the parade. This official livestream will remain available through January 14, 2026, on most platforms and up to one year on select platforms.
The platforms where this livestream is available are: Christmas Plus, FanDuel Sports Network West, Fubo, Great American Pure Flix, GFam+, and Pluto TV Christmas Channel.
What Is the Rose Parade?
The Rose Parade is an annual event that takes place on New Year’s Day. The celebration has been held in Pasadena, California, since 1890.
The parade is also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade. It features dozens of rose-covered floats, equestrian teams, and marching bands from around the world each year.
For the 2026 Rose Parade, NBC announced that it would feature 39 rose-covered floats, 17 equestrian teams, and 19 marching bands from around the world. NBA legend Magic Johnson will serve as the parade’s grand marshal.
In addition, we will see “American Idol” season 23 runner-up John Foster and “The Voice” season 28 finalists DEK of Hearts performing on floats in the parade.
While the parade first started in 1890, NBC didn’t start broadcasting it until 1927, which was done on the radio. NBC aired the parade for the first time on television in 1954. It was the first opportunity for viewers to see all the beautiful flower-filled floats and marching bands.
When Is the Rose Bowl Game?
The Rose Parade is the buildup to the Rose Bowl game, which is a College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup.
For the 2026 Rose Bowl game, it will be the Indiana Hoosiers taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide. Indiana was the #1-ranked team in college football this year, so this year’s Rose Bowl is going to be a big matchup.
The Rose Bowl game will kick off at 4 p.m. ET. Viewers can watch the game on ESPN or stream it live on ESPN+.
