July 3 & 4, 2026 · Gateway Arch · St. Louis · Free
Two nights. One weekend. Under the Arch.
The Midwest's Biggest 250th Birthday Celebration.
America turns 250 in 2026. The Midwest's biggest birthday celebration is happening right here in St. Louis, staged under the one monument in America built for what comes next.
Across two free nights at the Gateway Arch, Celebrate 250 brings the biggest civic event in St. Louis history. World-class music. A 1,500-drone aerial spectacle over the Mississippi, both nights. Fireworks over the river, both nights. America's Birthday Parade through downtown. The Innovation Village. A Salute the Troops ceremony. The Antique Car Show. Local food and drink. And a city showing up the way only St. Louis shows up.
Friday is The Party. Saturday is The Fourth. Two very different nights on purpose. Same event on purpose. Both completely free.
Two nights, side by side
Friday, July 3, 2026
The Party
A high-energy night of live music under the Arch. Zedd headlines. Ludacris keeps it moving. Big Wild opens it up. The Arch lights up at dark. Drones. Fireworks. The night the city comes alive.
Saturday, July 4, 2026
The Fourth
America's birthday, the St. Louis way. A full day of music headlined by Miranda Lambert with Kenny Loggins and Stephen Marley. America's Birthday Parade through downtown. Innovation Village at Live! by Loews. Salute the Troops. Antique Car Show. Drones. One of USA Today's Top 10 fireworks shows in America closing it out.
Why under the Arch?
The Gateway Arch is the only monument in America built to mark forward motion. Not the founding. Not the past. What comes next. On a 250th anniversary, that frame matters. Celebrate 250 is what it looks like when you put forward motion on a stage, light it up with 1,500 drones, and let a city that knows how to celebrate show the country what a birthday party looks like in the Midwest.
The scale
75,000 to 100,000+
Attendees projected across two nights
1,500 drones
Both nights
More than four decades of fireworks
At the Arch, at the biggest scale yet
Free
Every stage, every night
Plan your weekend
The Party
See Friday
The Fourth
See Saturday
Schedule
See the full run
Know Before You Go
Plan the trip
For media and press
Covering Celebrate 250? The Media & Press hub has announcements, the full press kit, approved photography, and media credential requests. For direct inquiries, reach out to info@celebratesaintlouis.org.