The United States is gearing up for a big birthday: July 4, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Above is Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the declaration was debated and adopted.
Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
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Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images
Parades, pageants, flag-waving and fireworks. These, plus a good dose of history, will all play a role in the United States Semiquincentennial celebrations leading up to and on July 4, 2026 — the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
Various national, statewide and local groups are involved in the planning. A slew of public initiatives and events are already underway.
In the works is a 250th kickoff celebration this July 3 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. At the event, President Trump is expected to announce plans for a Great America State Fair in 2026 and a federally backed Patriot Games highlighting American sports.
Why is this a big deal?
America has celebrated its big birthdays in a variety of ways over the years.
At its 100th, in 1876, President Ulysses Grant launched the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia by powering up a Corliss steam engine. According to Grant’s wife, Julia Grant, the American-made contraption “powered virtually all the exhibits.”
Also, members of the National Woman Suffrage Association crashed the stage to read out their Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States. (Women wouldn’t get the vote for another 44 years.)
In the run-up to the 1976 bicentennial, the country embarked on five years of patriotic celebrations known as the Bicentennial Era. The festivities included a visit from British monarch Queen Elizabeth II, who gifted the country the Bicentennial Bell, and the American Freedom Train, a traveling museum displaying such artifacts as a copy of the Constitution and a chunk of moon rock.
