Mayor Michael Bloomberg lit the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree on Wednesday night, ushering in the holiday season in one of New York's busiest shopping districts.
Tens of thousands of people packed the streets around the giant tree to catch performances by Aretha Franklin, Shakira, the Radio City Rockettes and others.
Rockefeller Center spokesman Keith Douglas says New York's most famous Christmas tree helps bring in 750,000 people to the center during the weeks the tree is lit. That's about 400,000 more people than visit on an average day the rest of the year.
This year's tree lighting ceremony looked a little different, though. The famed ice skating rink was covered with carpeting so onlookers could stand closer to the action.
A union representing producers, writers and technicians had threatened to boycott the televised extravaganza but said Wednesday afternoon it had called off the protest.