Overview
- The National Weather Service’s near‑100% rain forecast verified, producing the first wet Rose Parade since 2006 as the 8 a.m. start and full 5.5‑mile route proceeded as planned.
- Pasadena activated its Emergency Operations Center, enforced an umbrella ban to protect sightlines, and urged ponchos, with early‑morning crowds thinner than usual but loyal fans still lining Colorado Boulevard.
- Organizers implemented contingency steps including covering delicate float elements, raising convertible tops for VIPs such as Grand Marshal Earvin “Magic” Johnson, staging tow trucks, and monitoring for lightning.
- The ‘Rising Together’ float paid tribute to victims and survivors of the 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires, with survivors riding aboard and symbolic design elements highlighting the losses.
- Viewers followed the parade on major TV networks and through an official livestream, and for the first time the Tournament of Roses offered a TikTok LIVE broadcast.