How to watch the Rose Parade from the comfort of your couch

There’s at least one way 2022 won’t be a repeat of 2021: The Rose Parade is back to usher in the new year.

After the 2021 festivities were hampered by the pandemic, the flower-filled Jan. 1 parade once again descends on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena — this time, as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to raise concerns — with LeVar Burton serving as grand marshal.

The celebration begins at 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day, and six networks will provide live coverage: Los Angeles’ KTLA (Channel 5), ABC, NBC, Univision, RDF-TV and Hallmark Drama Channel. Cable and satellite subscribers can stream the Rose Parade on those channels through authenticated platforms; the channels can also be accessed through live TV streaming services such as Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV and Sling TV.

Volunteers apply carnations and tea leaves to the Monster for a Fox Entertainment float with the theme “Anyone Can Happen.”

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The Rose Parade’s return is set against a gloomy backdrop. The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has resulted in a number of cancellations for major events, including Fox’s “New Year’s Eve Toast & Roast 2022,” which was supposed to take place in New York with hosts Ken Jeong and Joel McHale and feature performances by Imagine Dragons, Maroon 5 and Billy Idol.

The Tournament of Roses, which puts on the fete involving hundreds of volunteers and thousands of spectators, has established a set of COVID-19 protocols for the event. It is requiring the 6,000-plus parade participants, including people on floats, marching bands and equestrians, to provide proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of the event. Parade spectators ages 12 and up in ticketed areas, including grandstands, will also have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours. Ticket holders ages 18 and up will have to provide photo identification, and all attendees ages 2 and up in those areas will be required to wear a mask.

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It’s a far cry from the 2021’s reimagined virtual celebration, which featured celebrity appearances, musical performances and a look back at floats from years past to fill the void of the perennial parade, which had not been canceled since World War II.