Boston Pops July 4th Fireworks Spectacular 2025

Experience Boston’s Biggest July 4 Celebration! Join us and special guests The Mavericks &amp; Kelli O’Hara, beloved favorites from the Boston Pops, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, and fireworks over the Charles River. The Boston Pops July 4th Spectacular is slated to take place at the Hatch Memorial Shell on the Esplanade starting at 8:00pm. Keith Lockhart will lead a program featuring the Boston Pops orchestra with special guests Darlene Love, Kelli O'Hara, and The Mavericks! The event is free and open to the public. Admittance to the event is on a first-come, first-served basis. The concert ends at 10:30 p.m. with a fireworks display from 10:30-11 p.m. (subject to change). Where does the event take place? The event takes place along the Charles River, at the DCR Hatch Shell located at 47 David G. Mugar Way Boston, MA 02108. The Shell is on the Charles River Esplanade between the Longfellow and Massachusetts Avenue Bridges, and the fireworks can be seen on both the Boston and Cambridge sides of the river. How long is the event? On July 4, the television broadcast begins at 8pm. The concert starts at 8pm and ends at 10:30pm with a fireworks display from 10:30-11pm (subject to change). Will the event take place if it rains? The event is planned to take place rain or shine. Light or intermittent rain will not cancel either the concert or the fireworks. If severe weather (including driving rain, lightning, or high wind) necessitates cancelling or curtailing the program to protect the safety of the public, performers, and event staff, we will post an update on this webpage and make a public announcement. The dress rehearsal on July 3 is recorded and would be used for the <a href="https://www.bso.org/boston-pops-fireworks-spectacular/tune-in">TV and radio broadcasts and streamed online</a> if the July 4 concert could not take place due to severe weather. Please note the July 3 rehearsal is not open to the public. History of Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular: Nearly ninety years ago, before Arthur Fiedler became Conductor of the Boston Pops, he was struck with an idea that was to transform the orchestra’s relationship to the City of Boston. He believed that if great literature was available for free in public libraries, and masterpieces of art could be viewed for a modest fee in museums, then great symphonic music should be accessible to the masses on a similar basis. Fiedler, who was at the time a violist in the Boston Symphony, as well as a conductor of his own ensemble, set about raising funds to bring his idea to fruition. After two years, on July 4, 1929, the first free Esplanade Concert was performed at the specially constructed acoustic shell along the banks of the Charles River.

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Boston Pops July 4th Fireworks Spectacular 2025

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