New York is gearing up for a championship parade on Thursday after the New York Knicks won the title for the first time in 53 years. Organizers expect more than 1 million people to line the streets as the team rides through Manhattan on open buses in a celebration that follows a historic win and comes as the city is also hosting World Cup activity.
The parade will begin at Bowling Green, continue through Manhattan, and end at New York City Hall, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to host the team at a ceremonial event. Singer Alicia Keys is set to take part and perform “Empire State Of Mind,” the Jay-Z collaboration that has become an unofficial anthem for the title festivities.
Former Knicks star Walt Frazier, who won the team’s previous championship in 1973 and has remained closely associated with the franchise, is also expected to join. The team’s cheerleaders and local marching bands will participate as well. The celebration will include more than a ton of recycled confetti, according to the report.
Police in New York are deploying a heightened security presence, with 10,000 officers assigned to protect the event, an unprecedented number for a city-organized parade. The Knicks, meanwhile, have continued celebrating in public appearances, including a visit to the World Cup match between France and Senegal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, a stop on Jimmy Fallon’s show, and an appearance by Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson at the New York Yankees’ baseball opener.
