United States Semiquincentennial
The United States Semiquincentennial, also called the Bisesquicentennial, the Sestercentennial, America250 or the Quarter Millennium, will be the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence. Festivities will mark various events leading up to the Declaration's anniversary on the 250th Independence Day: July 4, 2026.
Official planning for the celebrations began in 2016 with the congressional, non-partisan United States Semiquincentennial Commission. In 2025, President Donald Trump created the White House Task Force on Celebrating America's 250th Birthday to also promote and plan the events. An unofficial "soft launch" of celebrations began with the United States Army 250th Anniversary Parade on June 14, 2025 concurrent with nationwide protests. America250 events formally began on the eve of July 4, 2025.
Background
The Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, voted for the independence of the United Colonies by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2, 1776. The Declaration of Independence, mainly written by Committee of Five member Thomas Jefferson, was proclaimed on July 4, the date on which the anniversary of independence is observed.There were no major government-sponsored 50th anniversary observances on July 4, 1826, which was the day that the Founding Fathers and former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died. In 1876, the United States organized nationwide centennial observances centered on the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. In 1926, a Sesquicentennial Exposition was held in Philadelphia, and in 1976, bicentennial observances were held throughout the country.
Organization
Celebrations are organized by two main organizations at the federal level: the non-partisan congressional America250 Commission created in 2016 and backed by a nonprofit; and the White House Task Force on Celebrating America's 250th Birthday, chaired by Donald Trump and established via an executive order in 2025.The America 250 Civics Education Coalition will develop civics education programming to celebrate the semiquincentennial. The nonprofit America First Policy Institute will lead the coalition of more than 40 conservative organizations, with oversight from the Department of Education.
Activities and observances
The United States Semiquincentennial Commission Act of 2016 directs the United States Government to issue commemorative coins and postage stamps, and commission appropriately named naval vessels, in advance of the semiquincentennial. In addition, specific activities—both officially organized and independently created—are being planned. The legislation specifically directs the organization of events "in locations of historical significance to the United States" going on to list Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, and Charleston, South Carolina, as "leading cities".The Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act of 2020 allows the United States Mint to redesign any coins in 2026. It calls for a series of five designs for the quarter, including one depicting women's contributions to independence. 2025 changes by the second Trump administration ignored recommendations by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and removed coins celebrating abolition, women's suffrage and the civil rights movement as part of a campaign against "wokeness".
Plans for the casting of a new public bell are being coordinated by the National Bell Festival. The bell will honor 250 years of women's contributions to the American story, and will lead nationwide ringing tributes during the celebrations.
Leading cities
Boston
In 2016, Revolution 250, a non-profit group organized to plan commemorative events in Boston surrounding the semiquincentennial, was established. According to the organization, it is a consortium of 56 groups, including the Society of the Cincinnati, the National Park Service, the Boston Tea Party Museum, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Suffolk University history department, the Boston Downtown Business Improvement District, The Bostonian Society, and others.File:Redcoats PowderAlarm 250.jpg|thumb|Re-enactors portraying the 4th Regiment of Foot marching to the Old Powder House for the 250th anniversary commemoration, September 2024
The incident known as the Powder Alarm of 1774 in the city now known as Somerville was commemorated by a reenactment in 2024, on a Sunday 250 years after the Sunday of the actual event. The following day, activities in nearby Cambridge explored the consequences of this event.
For the 250th Evacuation Day celebrations, commemorating the evacuation of British forces from the city of Boston following the siege of Boston, early in the American Revolutionary War, on March 17, 2026, the NPS will carry out a $25 million overhaul of the Dorchester Heights Monument. The planned renovations, which will take approximately 18 months to complete, will include work on "taking apart and reassembling the top floors, placing granite slabs to mark where the 1776 fortifications sat, bringing the retaining walls, drainage and lighting up to date and giving the info panels a face lift."
In honor of George Washington's troops' final leg of the trip to secretly haul cannons from Fort Hill to the Fortification of Dorchester Heights, artist Michael Dowling seeks 100,000 Bostonians, a seventh of the city population, to write "a short story of belonging" on any piece of cloth, which will then be tied in a long rope, the same length as the covert journey.
Part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held at the Gillette Stadium in between June and July, co-hosting the championship with 15 other venues between Canada, the United States and Mexico, including the "leading cities" of Philadelphia and New York City, at the Lincoln Financial Field and MetLife Stadium, respectively.
Philadelphia
In 2017, the Daughters of the American Revolution announced a grant of $380,000 to the city of Philadelphia to plant 76 semiquincentennial commemorative trees at Independence National Historical Park. The actual planting of the trees will occur over the course of several years leading up to the semiquincentennial. In 2018, at the state-level, the Pennsylvania Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial Commission was formed.The commission has announced it is preparing a time capsule for burial in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026, which will be scheduled for unearthing on July 4, 2276, the 500th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
In 2016, city planners announced "Vision 2026", a plan to redevelop Old City in preparation for the semiquincentennial.
The 96th Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be held at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park in mid-July after the semiquincentennial, bookending the 47th All-Star Game held at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium in 1976 during the bicentennial. Part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held at the Lincoln Financial Field in between June and July.
New York
Sergio Villavicencio, Vice-President of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, is currently serving as the New York City Semiquincentennial Committee Chair. The Orange County Semiquincentennial Commission was created in 2019, while, in June 2021, the New York State 250th Commemoration Act was enacted, creating a state-wide commission in charge of Semiquincentennial celebrations at the state-level. Part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including the final match will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey between June and July, co-hosting the championship with 15 other venues between Canada, the United States and Mexico, including the "leading cities" of Philadelphia and Boston, at the Lincoln Financial Field and Gillette Stadium, respectively. In December 2025, it was announced that the Times Square ball drop on New Year's Eve would feature a collaboration with the Semiquincentennial Commission to launch America250, and that a special one-off edition of the event would take place on July 3, 2026 to count down to midnight on July 4.The United States Navy will also host the seventh International Fleet Review in New York Harbor on July 4, 2026, which will incorporate OpSail 2026. It is expected that 60 ships from 30 countries will take part.