Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Hundreds of thousands of people line streets of New York for annual spectacle

A colourful array of balloons, marching bands and floats descended on the streets of New York as the annual Thanksgiving parade rolled through the streets.

The 91st annual parade drew hundreds of thousands of spectators on a cold Thursday morning in Manhattan, and many more watched the hugely popular tradition from home.

It featured new inflatable versions of Olaf from the Disney movie Frozen and Chase from the TV cartoon Paw Patrol, along with a new version of the Grinch of Dr Seuss fame.

They made their make their way down a two-mile stretch of the city as crowds cheered.

Smokey Robinson, The Roots, Flo Rida and Wyclef Jean were among the stars celebrating, along with performances from the casts of Broadway's Anastasia, Dear Evan Hansen and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Bekki Grinnell, who came all the way from Alaska, said: "When your kid from Alaska is marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, you come."

Paul Seyforth flew in from Denver to spend his 50th wedding anniversary in New York and see this year's parade.

The 76-year-old said: "Not a lot's changed - the balloons, the bands, the floats - and that's the good thing.

"The crowds are still the same, but there's a lot more police here. That's the age we live in."

A significant police presence was put in place in a year marred by terror attacks with vehicles.

NYPD officers with assault weapons walked among the crowds, snipers were on rooftops and sand-filled city sanitation trucks were poised as imposing barriers to traffic.

Officers also escorted each of the giant balloons.

Timothy McMillian, his wife, their 9-year-old daughter and his in-laws came from Greensboro, North Carolina to attend the event.

McMillian, a 45-year-old schoolteacher, said he had some concerns about security after a truck attack on a bike path near the World Trade Center killed eight people on Halloween.

He said: "With the event being out in the open like this, we were concerned.

"But we knew security would be ramped up today, and we have full confidence in the NYPD."

Authorities said there was no confirmation of a credible threat to the parade, but they were taking no chances after the truck attack and October shooting that killed 58 people at a Las Vegas country music festival.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told crowds: "Every year, the NYPD has done more to keep this event tonight and the parade itself safer.

"Because we understand we are dealing with a very challenging world.

“And so the amount of resources and personnel we put in has increased each year to make us safer."