The nation’s capital was lit up by a record number of fireworks to commemorate the United States’s 250th birthday after several weather-related delays.
President Donald Trump watched over the fireworks, which his Freedom 250 task force said would feature over 850,000 pyrotechnic effects launched from 10 locations from the National Mall to West Potomac Park across 40 minutes. In comparison, the standard fireworks celebration in the capital is 17 minutes long and features around 17,000 to 20,000 fireworks being set off.
The display was aimed at being not only the largest fireworks show in Washington, D.C., history but also world history.
The previous record was held by the Iglesia Ni Cristo, a church in the Philippines, which set off 810,904 fireworks in 2016.
The Guinness Book of World Records has yet to officiate the new record, as the process often takes several days.
Fireworks explode during the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)People watch fireworks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)Lighting is seen at left, as people watch fireworks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, early Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Members of the U.S. Secret Service Counter Sniper team, top, stand guard as President Donald Trump watches a fireworks show during Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)President Donald Trump reacts during a fireworks show during Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)Fireworks over the National Mall during an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)Fireworks explode over the National Mall during an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)Fireworks explode over the National Mall during an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Saturday, July 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)People watch fireworks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, early Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)Fireworks explode over the Lincoln Memorial during Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, early Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington and seen from Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)People watch fireworks during an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington. (AP Photo/Tallulah Brown Van Zee)Fireworks explode during Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)People watch fireworks at Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary, early Sunday, July 5, 2026, on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
