Thanksgiving Day Parade live stream: How to watch the Macy's celebration online

A contingent of athletes will attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, including United States Olympic gold medalists Laurie Hernandez, Claressa Shields, and Michelle Carter. They will be joined by U.S. Paralympic gold medalists Mikey Brannigan and Gianfranco Iannotta, and former NHL players Adam Graves and Eric Lindros.

A live stream of the parade will be available online via Verizon's YouTube channel, set to begin at 9 a.m. ET. The parade should last around three hours and will be televised via NBC. The parade has been going on for nearly 100 years, and, as usual, the biggest draw is the character balloons that will take part in the procession.

Returning characters include Red from Angry Birds, Sinclair Oil's Dino, the Elf of the Shelf, Hello Kitty, Ice Age's Scrat, Paddington, Pikachu from Pokémon, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Red Ranger from Power Rangers, Ronald McDonald, Eruptor from Skylanders, Spongebob Squarepants, and Thomas the Tank Engine.

Charlie Brown, of Peanuts fame, will be the most notable new balloon in this year's parade. A float from the book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid and a float from DreamWorks' Trolls will also be on display on Thursday.

The parade will begin at 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. It will move south to Columbus Circle before turning east onto Central Park South. Once it hits Sixth Avenue, it will turn south to 34th Street. Finally, it will turn west toward Macy's Herald Square, ending at 34th Street and Seventh Avenue.

Here's what you need to know to watch Thursday's parade on TV and online.

How to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday

Time: 9 a.m. ET

Location: New York, N.Y.

TV: NBC

Online streaming: Verizon YouTube

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Behind the scenes of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade