#Newflash | Fireworks Burst into the Queens Air on July 4
BY QEDC It's In Queens
It’s Independence Weekend, and Queens has the best spots to marvel at pyrotechnics…again.
The Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular will explode over Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City on Tuesday, July 4, starting at around 9:25 pm.
More than 60,000 ghosts, sunflowers, mushrooms, rings, waterfalls, and other shells will shoot into the sky from five barges on the East River between Manhattan’s 26th Street and 40th Street during this 47th annual showcase. The 25-minute spectacle will be synchronized to a musical score curated by Maestro Ray Chew. (Expect “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”)
Conceived, designed, and produced by Macy’s with Pyro Spectaculars by Souza, the program plans to average more than 2,400 multi-colored shells and effects per minute. One-third of the shells contain multiple effects for multiple levels, going as high as 1,000 feet in the air. One showpiece is a mile-wide waving flag with red, white, and blue palm and strobing shells, a sunflower ring with crackling pistil shells, red Stop-sign-shaped effects, and a new Ghost pyro with four alternating hues.
This year includes a tribute to the recently deceased Tina Turner with thousands of gold shells that’ll explode over the East River as her iconic hit The Best plays.
Admission is free, and large crowds are expected. The NYPD will establish and manage public viewing locations. Click here for news and updates about the locations and entry points and please note that Hunter’s Point South Park is NOT recommended for viewing.
Meanwhile, a related, two-hour television special will broadcast on NBC and Peacock at 8 pm that night. Rutledge Wood and Zuri Hall are the hosts, and the guest list includes Ashanti, Bebe Rexha, LL Cool J, and Lainey Wilson.
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Executive Producer Will Coss predicts a “showstopping” event, adding that “we are ready to deliver a high-flying, jaw-dropping fireworks display that will fill the night sky with color, light, shapes, and thunderous sound.”
Editor’s note: Gantry Plaza State Park is generally ADA accessible, but it might not have designated space for ADA viewing for this event.
Images: Macy’s