NEW YORK (AP) β Thousands celebrated in the heart of Manhattan as they watched the lighting of the 85-foot-tall Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.
Performers at the annual tradition Wednesday night included Mariah Carey and Cyndi Lauper. There also were taped performances from Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett.
The tree lighting came just hours after a grand jury decided not to indict a police officer in a man’s videotaped chokehold death, causing Mayor Bill de Blasio to cancel his planned appearance.
There was heavy police presence as hundreds of protesters gathered behind rows of barricades on Fifth Avenue within sight of the holiday revelers.
The Norway spruce from central Pennsylvania will be on display through Jan. 7.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
Thousands celebrated in the heart of Manhattan on Wednesday night as they awaited the lighting of the 85-foot-tall Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.
Kids, and kids at heart, soaked in the season’s sights, including 45,000 LED lights primed for the flick of a switch, and sounds including performances by Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Mariah Carey and Cyndi Lauper.
Patricia Donnelly, 70, came from Greenwich, Connecticut, to see the lighting for the first time in 20 years.
“It was very different then,” she said, standing in a crowd squeezed into a police-barricaded pen. “There weren’t so many barricades then, and you could see the whole tree. Tonight, we’ll see only half the tree.”
She went at the last-minute urging of her “significant other,” Joseph Matkovich, 74.
“This is a gift to us,” he said, gazing at the 13-ton spruce.
The ceremony came just hours after a grand jury decided not to indict a police officer in a man’s videotaped chokehold death. Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled his scheduled appearance to meet with elected officials and activists on Staten Island as citywide protests started to gather steam.
Police presence was heavy as hundreds of protesters stood behind rows of police barricades and jammed the sidewalks on Fifth Avenue within sight of the holiday revelers.
But the annual tradition went on as planned.
The tree’s former home was outside a century-old farmhouse in Danville, Pennsylvania.
“It’s really cool to be here. It’s such a beautiful night, and there’s so many people here β the air is just alive β and I look at my magical tree,” said swimming coach Rachel Drosdick-Sigafoos, 29, who donated the spruce with her husband, Dan Sigafoos, 39, a lab technician.
