The parade's theme was "The Magic in Teamwork."
Members of the "Golden Bears" band from Osaka, Japan, wave to the crowd along the parade route. Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
This live blog coverage has ended.
The 112th Rose Bowl will begin at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.
This year’s game will feature No. 1 seed Indiana and No. 9 seed Alabama (11-3), the school with the third-most wins ever.
Fans can tune in to the annual game on ESPN or stream it on ESPN+.
The Rose Parade is an iconic annual celebration held in Pasadena, California, on New Year’s Day.
It began in 1890 as an event to highlight the area’s mild weather compared with the cold and gray East Coast winters. The Valley Hunt Club, a social organization for wealthy Pasadena families, hosted the original festivities.
Today, the event drew millions of viewers through in-person attendance and television coverage in the lead-up to the Rose Bowl college football game.
Trader Joe's "You Float Our Boat" float at the Rose Bowl Parade today. Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The 137th annual parade has come to a close!
As the Rose Bowl is coming to an end, country trio DEK of Hearts is singing Capital Cities’ “Safe and Sound” with singer Sebu Simonian.
The 137th annual Rose Parade got underway in Pasadena, California, as thousands of spectators gathered along the route despite heavy rain, making it the first wet Rose Parade in 20 years.
The President Award went to organ donation nonprofit OneLegacy Donate Life for its “Treasure Every Moment Together” float.
The Golden State Award went to the Odd Fellows & Rebekahs, one of the oldest fraternal orders in the country, for its “Together We Grow” float.
American country singer John Foster performed midway through the parade, wearing a white cowboy hat and suit. He was joined by a flurry of dancers in colorful suits.
The Judges Award was given to Sierra Madre Rose Float Association for its “Pancake Breakfast” float. The float has a fire truck, a giant stack of pancakes and a massive maple syrup bottle.
Several floats traveling through Pasadena this morning are receiving awards. According to the parade’s website, the Tournament of Roses selects three judges to grant the floats awards “based on many criteria, including float design, floral presentation, and entertainment value.”
The float design category “showcases attractive, visually well-balanced floats that offer a creative treatment of the designer’s idea,” the website says. The floats are also judged on their alignment with the parade’s theme and use of animation.
The floral presentation category seeks floats providing “a visual balance and cohesive mix of floral and non-floral materials,” the website says. Finally, the entertainment value category looks for floats that create a “dramatic impact by creatively using additional elements to advance the design concept,” according to the parade’s website.
Caroline Brehman / AP
Floats from Indiana University and the University of Alabama just went by. The universities’ teams are playing against one another in the 112th Rose Bowl later today.
The “Rose Queen” and the “Rose Court” just passed by on a float. The court, comprising about 10 women, was seen waving in their tiaras, each holding a bouquet of roses.
Singer Charlie Worsham performed on top of the “Visit Mississippi” float while surrounded by a group of dancers. The float also featured a giant Kermit the Frog muppet.
Charlie Worsham performs during the parade. Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The Past President Award goes to the city of South Pasadena for its float, “The Great Picnic Heist.”
The Animation Award went to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the West San Gabriel Valley and Eastside for their “Building Kinder Communities” float.
The San Diego Zoo received the grand marshal award for its “Giant Strides Together” float. The float featured many faux animals, including zebras and elephants.
The parade’s Extraordinaire Award went to the San Francisco Travel Association for its “Believe in San Francisco” float.
The float features the massive Golden Gate Bridge and the city’s iconic Painted Ladies homes.
Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Honda, the lead sponsor of today’s parade, kicked things off with its colorful “Power of Teams” float.
A worker stands in front of Honda's float before the start of the parade today. Caroline Brehman / AP
Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
People wait in the pouring rain along the parade route. Umbrellas are prohibited.
Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Members of the Golden Bears band from Japan wait in the rain to perform.
The parade festivities have begun!
The parade opened with British performer Bishop Briggs singing Queen’s “We Will Rock You” along with a group of a dozen dancers in bright-red puffer jackets, plus her hit song “River.”
This year’s parade will be streamed live on TikTok for the first time.
The livestream will be hosted by influencers Pressley Hosbach and Challan Trishann, “who will take viewers behind the scenes and onto the iconic corner of Orange Grove and Colorado,” the Pasadena Tournament of Roses said in a statement.
Singers Kiesza and Aloe Blacc will kick off the festivities with what organizers promise will be a “high-energy spectacle.” There will be a synchronized light show featuring pyrotechnics and “extreme stunts,” according to the show’s website.
Spectators can expect performances throughout the parade from artists Timothy Wayne, Chapel Hart and Brandon Bennett.
Musician Betty Who will close out the show with Debbie Gibson in a duet designed to evoke 1980s nostalgia with Who’s cover of Donna Lewis’ “I Love You Always Forever” and Gibson’s own “Electric Youth.” Students from the Debbie Allen Dance Academy will join them.
Los Angeles Lakers legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson will serve as the parade’s Grand Marshal. The parade’s website says that as “Grand Marshal, Johnson will ride down Colorado Boulevard, ushering in the new year with the joy, beauty, and tradition the Parade is known for, and will also participate in the pre-game ceremony at the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the 112th Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential.”
Earvin "Magic" Johnson attends the parade as the Grand Marshal. Caroline Brehman / AP
The parade theme this year is “The Magic in Teamwork.” According to the parade’s website, the theme “celebrates the sense of accomplishment in knowing that by working together, we can collectively achieve outcomes so much richer than we can ever experience as individuals.”
The parade will begin at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT on New Year’s Day.
Viewers who want to watch at home can tune in to the national ABC, NBC, CNN and Fox network channels. The parade will also host its own livestream, in addition to streaming on platforms such as Pluto TV, FanDuel Sports Network and Fubo Sports Network.
The Rose Bowl will take place at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT and feature the Indiana University Hoosiers against the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. College football fans can watch that on ESPN.
Read the full story here.
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