The Philadelphia Welcome America Festival is an annual series of celebrations leading up to

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is currently sponsored by convenience store chain Wawa. Coverage of events on July 4th airs on NBC Channel 10 & Telemundo Canal 62. PMA-Fireworks

The 6-day festival features multicultural and multigenerational events, including free concerts, fireworks displays, block parties, a parade, and educational activities.

History

Philadelphia's main Independence Day celebration was started in 1993 by Welcome America, Inc., a non-profit organization. The first event highlighted the opening of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The series of events have relied heavily on corporate sponsorship, which enables the organization to keep all of the events free to attend. In 1995,

Sunoco Sunoco LP is an American master limited partnership organized under Delaware state laws and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that is a wholesale distributor of motor fuels. It distributes fuel to more than 5,500 Sunoco-branded gas stations, ...

became a title sponsor of the event, and it was referred to as ''Sunoco Welcome America!''. The company continued as the main sponsor until 2010, when Wawa paid $3 million to be the sponsor for the following three years. Wawa has continued as the title sponsor through 2022. No festival was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a shooting of two policemen in 2022 between the end of the concert and the start of the fireworks. This caused widespread panic for thousands of attendees due to both the rise in mass shootings in the United States and the Highland Park parade shooting happening earlier in the day.

July 4th Concert & Fireworks

Every year a free outdoor concert is held on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in front of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

. The concert is followed by fireworks. The free live performance has been a Philadelphia tradition for more than two decades. Past performers have included notable hometown acts and top-selling artists. In 2013, the concert was broadcast nationally on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

, in addition to local network broadcast by NBC10. 2022 Ava Max,

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2021

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, Bebe Rexha,

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2018 Pitbull
2017 Mary J. Blige,

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

, Mandy Gonzalez,

Tony DeSare Tony DeSare (born 1976) is an American jazz singer, pianist and songwriter. Early life DeSare was born in Glens Falls, New York in 1976. He began playing the piano as a young child, and had public performances in his late teens. He kept perform ...

2016 Leon Bridges along with Leslie Odom Jr.,

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, The O'Jays, and a

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tribute.
2015

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along with Jennifer Nettles, Miguel, MKTO and Zella Day.
2014 Pop stars Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran,

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, Aloe Blacc, Jennifer Hudson, and The Voice finalist Vicci Martinez joined The Roots on stage.
2013

and special guests included

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, Ne-Yo, Jill Scott, and host comedian Kevin Hart.
2012 The Roots and special guests Daryl Hall, Queen Latifah,

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, Lauryn Hill, and Joe Jonas.
2011 The Roots and special guests

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, Michael McDonald, Estelle,

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, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Aaron Neville and Gerald Veasley.
2010 The Roots and The Goo Goo Dolls
2009

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

and

2008 John Legend, an alumnus of Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania
2007 Hall & Oates
2006

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

and Fantasia
2005

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

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2004 The Isley Brothers
2003 Musiq and

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

2002 Brian McKnight and

The Baha Men The Baha Men are a Bahamian junkanoo band formed in New Providence, Bahamas in 1977. They are best known for their Grammy Award-winning hit song " Who Let the Dogs Out". History Early years The Baha Men formed in 1977 as High Voltage, initi ...

2001

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

2000 Earth, Wind & Fire
1999

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

1998

1997 Ray Charles
1996

1995 The Beach Boys
1994

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

, Peter Nero, and The Philly Pops
1993 The Pointer Sisters and The Philly Pops

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.wawawelcomeamerica.com Parades in the United States Independence Day (United States) festivals Festivals in Philadelphia