On Saturday, July 4, 2026, Washington, D.C. hosted the Freedom 250 fireworks display on the National Mall, officially confirmed by Guinness World Records as the largest fireworks show in history. The event featured 840,537 fireworks, surpassing the previous record of 810,904 set by a 2016 New Year's Eve show.

The display was organized by Event Strategies Inc and executed by Freedom 250 and Pyrotecnico, Inc, both based in the USA. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum noted in June that the fireworks were launched from multiple sites due to the show's immense scale. The celebration marked America's 250th birthday and lasted about 40 minutes.

Despite weather delays that led to evacuations from the National Mall, hundreds of thousands of spectators witnessed the event. President Donald Trump, who delivered a speech during the "Salute to America" festivities, estimated that the crowd size was reduced from 350,000 to 150,000 due to the weather.

The White House issued a statement, as reported by The Washington Post, saying, "No other president in history could have accomplished the incredible feat that President Trump did at our Nation’s historic 250th birthday celebration, which included an incredible air show, a record-breaking fireworks display, and an inspiring speech delivered before hundreds of thousands of American patriots."

Additional events across the country included speeches at national landmarks, a gathering of military veterans including a 103-year-old World War II veteran, and an international naval review in New York Harbor.

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