The New York Liberty are WNBA champions at long last, and New York City is set to celebrate the victory with a ticker-tape parade.
The Liberty emerged triumphant after an incredible five-game series with the Minnesota Lynx that culminated in a 67-62 overtime win. The victory ended the Big Apple’s 27-year wait for a WNBA crown. With New York City’s basketball championship wait dating all the way back to 1973, Thursday’s parade will be a moment to savor for a hoops-mad city.
“This championship is not only for us and New York City – it’s for all ‘Liberty Loyals’ and our Brooklyn community!” said Liberty CEO Keia Clarke in a team press release. “We are honored to celebrate at the iconic Canyon of Heroes, and also come together with our passionate fans at our home in Brooklyn. The community in the borough has embraced us wholeheartedly since we began playing at Barclays Center and we want to share this moment with them.”
Here’s what to know to follow the New York Liberty’s ticker-tape parade along Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes:
WNBA: Moms, dads naming babies after these 3 WNBA stars
When is the New York Liberty championship parade?
The New York Liberty will get a parade celebrating the 2024 WNBA Championship on Thursday, Oct. 24.
The victory parade is free to attend, and will start at 10 a.m. ET on Battery Place. Very quickly, it will turn onto Broadway and head up the Canyon of Heroes, a roughly 0.8 mile stretch ending at City Hall.
What will the New York Liberty championship parade feature?
The ticker-tape parade for the New York Liberty will include a slow-moving procession up Broadway, heading from Manhattan’s southern edge to City Hall. Upon arrival, the Liberty will participate in a ceremony on the steps of City Hall (an event whose start time hinges on the speed of the parade and its conclusion). While the City Hall ceremony is open to the public, the team has announced that all tickets for the event have been claimed.
Following all of that, at 7 p.m. on Thursday the Liberty will host a championship celebration at Barclays Center. While that event is free and open to the public, tickets are required, and per the team’s website, those tickets are already sold out.
How to watch New York Liberty parade
The New York Liberty’s ticker-tape parade celebrating the team’s 2024 WNBA championship win will stream on ABC 7 NY and on Fox 5 NY.
Who else has had a New York ticker-tape parade?
The New York Liberty will receive the eighth New York ticker-tape parade since the year 2000. Ticker-tape parades in New York City date back to Oct. 28, 1886, when — in a connection of sorts to this year’s parade for the Liberty — a spontaneous celebration took place following the dedication of the Statue of Liberty.
Since then, a wide range of events have garnered the same treatment, with visiting dignitaries, U.S. Olympic delegations, early aviators, and military leaders all having their own parades. In recent years, however, ticker-tape parades have largely shifted towards sports.
While the most recent parade came in 2021 to honor medical professionals and essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the other six such events since 2000 have focused on championship teams. The New York Yankees (2000, 2009), New York Giants (2008, 2012), and U.S. women’s national soccer team (2015, 2019) got the honor of a trip up the Canyon of Heroes, with the Liberty joining them on Thursday.
Historically, the Yankees have had the most ticker-tape parades, with nine such events happening over the years. Aviator Richard E. Byrd was honored with three such parades, more than any other individual.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York Liberty parade: Time, how to watch WNBA celebration
