Hannah Storm’s broadcast career has come up roses. And she, like several who put their voices to the Rose Parade, are set for telecasts and livestreams that will take over your screens for a couple of hours on the morning of Jan. 1.
They are the parade announcers of the 135th Rose Parade, continuing a tradition of engaging millions of viewers watching from across the U.S. and the world. But it’s not just all talk. There’s much that goes into being ready to delighting audiences.
For Storm, this will be her 14th year handling the New Year’s Day anchoring job for the network as she joins ESPN’s Kevin Negandhi to host ABC’s Rose Parade telecast.
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“I’ve watched the Rose Parade pretty much my whole life,” Storm said in a recent interview. “I didn’t have a full understanding of all of the work and everything that goes into it until I started hosting it…I’ve learned so much about the volunteers and the tradition. I love hosting it. I love talking about it. I love sharing it, it’s a really special event.”
The Rose Parade has become a tradition in Storm’s life — one she’s come to cherish.
“To be able to come to California to spend the new year; to wake up early and do this wonderful, hopeful, beautiful broadcast; to go to the float barns year after year; see the volunteers and really, really appreciate the creativity of the floats,” she said, “and also the dedication of the people who work on them is really inspiring, and it’s a great way to kick off the new year.”
Parade Prep
The preparation of a host starts long before the floats go down Colorado Boulevard. Storm says that they visit the floats as they are being built, as well as talk to builders, sponsors and volunteers, and doing as much research as possible.
On the day of the parade, the announcers have a huge notebook full of all the facts on each float, band and equestrian unit, she said.
But even with the notebook as a…
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