Sara Bareilles is set to perform the “Broadway for Orlando” single today at NBC’s 40th annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular in New York City. The Waitress’ composer is part of the lineup for the evening which also includes Jennifer Holliday.
“What the World Needs is love” will also be part of the show along with the 25-minute fireworks display over the East River, as reported by PlayBill.
For the pre-fireworks shows, there will be a concert set to start at 8 p.m. ET. The Radio City Rockettes, Kenny Chesney, 5 Seconds of Summer, Meghan Trainor, Pitbull and multi-platinum band DNCE will attend the show.
The fireworks will be launched from five different locations, on the East River in midtown Manhattan and within the South Street Seaport district. This year’s show include more than 56,00 pyrotechnic effects and the New York debut of pyro-writing, an explosive version of skywriting using fireworks that will spell out “USA” over the sky.
40th Anniversary
In 1958, Macy’s held its first firework display above the New York Harbor sky, but nowadays, the show has evolved into the largest ongoing Independence Day pyrotechnic show in America, according to a Macy’s statement.
During the 40th anniversary of the show, the New York Police Department (NYPD) expect more than a million people present. This great amount brought tight security to the location, with a counterterrorism unit deployed and the constant monitoring of more than 9,000 video feeds from cameras across the city, as reported by ABC.
This is the first year that the NYPD will be using its Critical Response Command, which is a team of heavily armed and well-equipped officers who can respond to a major incident at a moment’s notice.
Police will also use bomb-sniffing dogs who can detect radiation or chemicals, as a precaution in the area.
Independence Day in numbers
For this year, about 214 million people in the U.S. will be celebrating Independence Day, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). The majority, about 65 percent of them, will make a barbecue, cookout or picnic as part of the celebration, as reported by Forbes.
The evidence of this tradition is seen on the amount of money Americans spend on food. The NRF reported that each adult in the U.S. would spend about $71.34 on food items during this holiday. The overall amount of food across the nation is near $6.8 billion.
In addition to the food gathering, 42.6 percent of people will attend a fireworks display or community celebration. According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, about 285 million pounds of fireworks are used during the holiday, with a revenue of about $1.09 billion.
Source: Forbes