Fireworks explode over the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States in Washington, DC, the United States, in the small hours of July 5, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]
As cities across the United States marked the nation's 250th birthday, the celebrations might have looked different this year, with rising costs casting a shadow over the longstanding tradition of the Independence Day fireworks display.
Across the country, local officials and fireworks companies say that tariffs on Chinese-made fireworks, coupled with higher labor and equipment costs and unusually heavy demand tied to the semiquincentennial, have driven up the price of Fourth of July shows. The resulting cancellations and cutbacks have dimmed what was meant to be a landmark national celebration.
In Hinesburg, Vermont, a fireworks tradition dating back to the 1976 bicentennial would not continue this year. Town officials canceled the annual show after concluding the cost had grown too high, as the town's fireworks provider recently required a minimum payment of $20,000 to stage a display, more than the town had budgeted.
Such displays have grown so expensive in Vermont that some towns are now seeking donations from residents to help fund shows for the country's 250th birthday, according to the local newspaper Seven Days. In Bristol, after a fireworks-funding drive fell short, the town was forced to scale back some of the live performances planned for its Independence Day celebration and drop the cash prizes for a competition.
