The last time Santa Monica entered the Rose Parade – during the chaotic 1970s – its city council planned to demolish its iconic pier.
Amid Watergate, the end of the Vietnam War and an energy crisis, city leaders voted to remove one of the most visible coastal landmarks in all of Southern California to make way for a 30-story luxury resort – on a manmade island.
Santa Monica residents revolted and the pier was spared.
Nearly 50 years later, the City Council is celebrating the Santa Monica Pier and using it as a symbol of rejuvenation in a plan to bolster a dragging tourism business.
The Pier – with its famous ferris wheel and amusement park features – will be rendered in flowers on Jan. 1, 2027, on a float titled “Waves of Welcome.”
It’s city leaders’ hope the Rose Parade entry will remind a global audience of the coastal city’s assets and help tell a story about what they see as an ongoing renaissance.
“The Rose Parade is an important pillar for us,” said Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis. “We are reintroducing Santa Monica to the world and we are welcoming new visitors worldwide.”
The float, designed by Artistic Entertainment Services, will feature a working ferris wheel, a vintage carousel horse and a recreation of bustling, people-filled piers extending over crashing blue dolphin-clad waves.
Reentering the Rose Parade after nearly five decades is just one component to what the current Santa Monica City Council believes is a larger strategy, according to Torosis.
During the 2020-21 pandemic, the city suffered from years of declining revenue, deteriorating public spaces and rising public safety and homeless concerns.
Then, in 2024, according to Torosis, Santa Monica’s city government got a complete overhaul. That year, citizens voted in a more cohesive council majority, Torosis said. In turn, that panel, she added, hired a new city manager, a new police chief, as well as a new city attorney.
In October 2025, Santa Monica introduced the Realignment Plan, a set of goals to re-establish safety, economic stability and affordability.
Torosis said Santa Monica has already made progress, citing a 12.5% drop in Part 1 dangerous crimes and an 18.7% drop in unsheltered homelessness.
Participating in the Rose Parade fits perfectly into this Realignment Game Plan, which Torosis has also dubbed a “renaissance” for Santa Monica.
“This is part of our bigger mission,” said the mayor. “Of welcoming folks back to Santa Monica.”
Residents of the coastal town are excited about the potential for resurgence, Torosis said. For example, during her late July State of the City address, the council turned Main Street into a three-hour street festival to encourage residents to revisit local businesses.
Part of that event, said Torosis, also featured a replica foam carousel horse from the Waves of Welcome float. Community members were invited to put thumbprints on the horse to signify their investment in the Rose Parade.
And even though those thumbprints won’t be seen underneath all the florals, Torosis said it was important to have citizens involved.
“People are really excited about our renaissance,” Torosis said. “And that’s why we’re so excited about (the Welcome) theme. It’s very apropos of what we’re trying to do.”
There are, however, naysayers, said Torosis, who lament Santa Monica is spending a minimum of $350,000 on the float. The council voted to set aside an additional $300,000 as a contingency fund, according to a city staff report.
The actual float cost, according to Katie McCormick, program director for AES, will come in around $350,000 to $400,000. Santa Monica is doing the right thing, she said, to set extra money aside.
As the city’s head, Torosis said her goal is for the Waves of Welcome float to be cost neutral for Santa Monica. In addition to fundraising from the community, the mayor and city council are seeking corporate sponsors.
For Torosis, who personally brought the Rose Parade float idea to the city, America’s favorite New Year’s Day tradition comes at the perfect time.
This summer, Santa Monica welcomed FIFA World Cup fans to the coast. There were soccer watch parties on the Third Street Promenade and a Michelob ULTRA Pitchside event on the Pier.
“We saw a great reemergence of folks coming into the city with FIFA,” said Torosis.
Torosis and city leaders want to keep all eyes on Santa Monica between now and the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics. In addition to the Rose Parade entry, the city will host ESPN’s first simulcast of SuperBowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027, titled “ESPN Beach.”
It’s unclear yet whether Torosis or fellow council members will ride or walk alongside “Waves of Welcome” on New Year’s Day.
But, said the mayor, the realization of the float will be as if a dream has come true for her Canadian parents, who watched the Rose Parade religiously each year from Montreal.
“They were just so aghast that there was such a place,” said Torosis of Southern California. “Everything here is so beautiful and sunny and it’s all living and fresh.”
Lisa Jacobs is a correspondent with the Southern California News Group.