A fleet of ships are sailing through New York Harbor on Saturday in celebration of the Fourth of July and to salute the iconic Statue of Liberty.
The parade organized by Sail4th 250 featured tall ships from around the world in honor of America’s 250th birthday and has been called the largest ever flotilla, Pix 11 News reported Saturday.
The ships were set to parade early Saturday from the Verrazzano Bridge to the George Washington Bridge, and “A massive formation of U.S. and international aircraft, led by the Blue Angels, will also fly in daring formations over the Verrazzano Bridge beginning at 10:15 a.m.,” the outlet said.
CBS News reported Friday that over 100 tall ships and Navy vessels had journeyed to the harbor for the celebrations:
More video footage showed the massive parade with vessels moving past the Statue of Liberty as people enjoyed the view:
“To celebrate America’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, the largest fleet of the world’s most magnificent tall ships and gray hull ships will sail into New York Harbor, pass in Presidential review, and salute the Statue of Liberty,” the Sail4th 250 website read:
In the tradition of the 1976 Bicentennial, the Statue of Liberty Centennial in 1986, the Columbus Quincentennial in 1992, the Millennium celebration in 2000, and the Bicentennial of The Star-Spangled Banner in 2012, international fleets will arrive in grand style and spend a week in the heart of the nation’s first capital.
Sailors will come together in the universal fellowship of freedom, hope, and opportunity that our country has always represented.
In addition, Sail4th has a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Navy for the events of July 4th in the Port of New York & New Jersey. The Navy is hosting only the Seventh International Naval Review that morning, a solemn time-honored ritual involving more than 53 U.S. and foreign warships.
The event was expected to draw millions of people celebrating the nation’s anniversary, according to Fox 5.
In his proclamation on Friday, President Donald Trump said, “Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Founders of our great Republic gathered in Philadelphia to fulfill a God-given destiny — the freedom and Independence of the United States of America.”
“On this 250th anniversary of our glorious Independence, we once again acknowledge that our Nation was conceived in providence, born of the blood of heroes, and sustained through the generations of freedom-loving patriots who gave their lives, toil, and treasure to keep the American Spirit alive,” he added.
