NBC Announces ‘SNL’ 50th Anniversary Celebration With Special Live Show

Millions of fans have enjoyed the fun and energy of New York City for ‘SNL’ 50th anniversary celebration. The city is currently blazing with SNL fever, especially in Midtown Manhattan.

In anticipation of SNL’s 50th anniversary celebration, NBCUniversal is renovating the famous area located below the storied Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Even while Sunday night’s star-studded three-hour live special will be the weekend’s high point, the celebrations began early on Friday morning with a ceremonial stock market bell ringing and last-minute red carpet preparations.

With banners honoring “SNL 50” draped from nearby buildings and streetlights, New York City celebrates SNL 50th anniversary celebration to the fullest. Since earlier this week, pedestrian paths around Rockefeller Center have been redirected, and vehicle traffic has been stopped between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Towering black tents now encircle the famous ice rink, and security measures, such as police barriers and street closures, are similar to those observed during the yearly holiday tree lighting.

Friday night’s SNL50: The Homecoming Concert at Radio City Music Hall, just next to 30 Rock, marked a major milestone in the festivities. The three-hour performance, which will include 20 well-known performers, will be shown live on Peacock and in a few theaters across the country.

A few blocks south in Times Square, past and current members of the Saturday Night Live cast joined NBCUniversal executives and show personnel for a unique event: they rang the opening bell at the NASDAQ MarketSite, marking the beginning of a historic weekend.

At the unique bell-ringing ceremony at the NASDAQ MarketSite, current SNL cast member Chloe Fineman was joined by former cast members Taran Killam, Jay Pharoah, Alex Moffat, and Garrett Morris. Mark Marshall, Chairman of Global Advertising & Partnerships; Katie Hockmeyer, EVP of Late Night Programming; and Matt Strauss, Chairman of the Media Group, represented NBCUniversal’s senior team. Additionally present were executives from the presenting sponsors for the anniversary season.

Each visitor to the MarketSite was given a cowbell, a lighthearted tribute to the classic “More Cowbell” sketch by Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken. With a raucous round of cheers, the market officially started, and the bells added to the excitement.

Marshall acknowledged representatives from the event’s five presenting sponsors, Allstate, L’Oréal Groupe, T-Mobile, and Volkswagen of America, prior to the ceremony. “This has been a multi-year journey,” he said, adding that few brands have ever had the unique opportunity to collaborate with SNL and its renowned creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels.

Sponsors have had a unique opportunity to produce exclusive branded shorts in addition to the standard commercial commercials that air throughout the season. One notable example (see it HERE) brings together former Saturday Night Live cast members Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and Fred Armisen in an electric Volkswagen van for a hilarious revival of their favorite soap opera parody, The Californians.