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Watch 2016 Rose Parade Live Online: Start Time, Streaming Video Link For 127th Rose Parade

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 13:32 PST, Dec 31, 2015

Viewers can watch the 2016 Rose Parade live online and see the New Year’s Day tradition from the comfort of their computer chair.

The parade marks the start of the New Year and a lead-in to college football’s Rose Bowl, which takes place later in the day in Pasadena.

The start time for the 2016 Rose Parade is 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT). The parade lasts two hours and will wind through Pasadena, with floats and horses along with band performances.

Viewers who watch the 2016 Rose Parade live online will see an American icon leading the show. The Grand Marshal for this year’s Tournament of Roses will be famed director Ken Burns, best known for documentaries on baseball, the Civil War, and the history of jazz.

Burns said this will be his first time actually attending the parade.

“The Rose Parade is an annual tradition woven into the fabric of America, so it’s such an honor to be chosen as the Grand Marsha,” Burns said (via Christian Today). “I’ve never been to the Parade in person, so this will be a new adventure for me. I’m looking forward to sharing the experience with my family and all the fans of the Rose Parade who will be watching on New Year’s Day.”

This year’s Rose Parade will be set against a backdrop of heightened security. Just as the Times Square ball drop had a higher police presence after a threat of violence from overseas, the federal government has issued a “rating 1” for the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl. With close to 700,000 people expected to pack into the 5.5-mile stretch of the parade route and another 90,000 expected at Pasadena stadium, that means security from more than 20 different federal agencies.

There is the additional fear of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, which took place just a little more than 50 miles from the Rose Parade site.

“The San Bernardino event sort of upped the ante,” Mark Selby, deputy special agent in charge of the agency’s investigative bureau in Los Angeles, told Reuters.

Those who watch the 2016 Rose Parade online will see more than just colorful floats and thousands of flowers. There is also a giant support system to keep it running, including a massive team of volunteers.

The Rose Parade and Rose Bowl’s officials website described the “White Suiters,” volunteers wearing distinctive white uniforms.

“An event as large as the Tournament of Roses requires about 80,000 hours of combined manpower each year. That manpower is supplied by 935 members of the non-profit Tournament of Roses Association, a volunteer organization dedicated to presenting an internationally-recognized New Year’s celebration. Each volunteer is assigned to one of 31 committees, with responsibilities ranging from selecting parade participants to directing visitors on New Year’s Day, to hosting the press headquarters for media coverage of the Rose Bowl Game, to giving presentations about the Tournament to community groups.”

Reality television fans will get another familiar sight. Ben Higgins, the next Bachelor in ABC’s reality dating series, will be anchoring his own float during Friday’s parade.

Those who want to watch the 2016 Rose Parade live online can click here for streaming video through ABC’s website. The Tournament of Roses also has a full list of broadcast partners that can be found here. A full list of the participants, including floats and marching bands from across the country, can be found here.

[Picture by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]

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