In just two years, America will be celebrating its 250th birthday.
Philadelphia will no doubt be in the spotlight in the summer of 2026.
That’s where, on June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress gathered in Philadelphia, proposed a resolution declaring the 13 colonies independent of the British empire. A Committee of Five was appointed to write the declaration, and Congress approved Lee’s resolution, and the declaration, on July 2, 1776.
We mark the nation’s anniversary on the Fourth of July because that’s when the Declaration of Independence was first proclaimed to the world. It actually took months to sign as delegates traveled in and out of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia may be the center of attention then, but for the next year, here’s a warning to residents of Massachusetts: The British — and millions of other tourists — are coming.
And rightfully so. This is where the revolution began. Other colonists had to be persuaded by Massachusetts’ leaders, headed by Samuel Adams, that they were no longer British but Americans and that an island an ocean away should not be ruling a continent.
How many tourists will be coming? The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism estimates that it will easily add 50% to the typical $24 billion in annual state tourism spending.
As you might imagine, one big event will be in Lexington and Concord on April 19, 2025. That’s where colonial militia skirmished with red-coated British troops in the “shots heard ‘round the world.”
Then-President Gerald Ford visited there 50 years ago for the nation’s bicentennial, laying a wreath at a statue to the Minutemen.
There will also be a celebration in Arlington. Why?
In a little remembered part of history, the town, then known as Mentomy, saw the first battle of the American Revolution a few hours before Lexington and Concord. Twelve Americans were killed as they harassed the retreating British. Nobody remembers it because it wasn’t included in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem about the midnight ride of Paul Revere.
Chelsea, where colonial soldiers burned a British ship, will also host a celebration. A little less than a year from now, on June 17, 1 2025, another celebration will take place in Charlestown, home of the Battle of Bunker Hill. A $1.4 million renovation to the Bunker Hill Monument is now underway.
And as if we needed another reason to celebrate on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2026, will be a big day, the 250th anniversary of the day British troops were driven out of Boston after a months-long siege.
A $25 million, 18-month overhaul of the Dorchester Heights Monument is planned to commemorate the triumph. In honor of George Washington’s troops’ final leg of the trip to secretly haul cannons from Fort Hill to a fortification at Dorchester Heights, artist Michael Dowling is seeking 100,000 Bostonians, a seventh of the city population, to write “a short story of belonging” on any piece of cloth, which will then be tied in a 4-mile rope, the same length as the covert journey.
Foxboro will also be part of the party. Gillette Stadium is hosting 2026 World Cup soccer matches from June 13 to July 9 of that year, and events are planned to commemorate the nation’s birthday at the games.
Finally, Tall Ships are returning to Boston July 11-16, 2026, which organizers expect will attract 5 million visitors to the state.
The National Park Service plans to add staff and offer apps and QR codes for the expected flood of visitors to guide themselves on tours. A state website of 250th anniversary events can be found at 250.ma.
Finally, if you have friends or relatives from out of town who plan to visit during that time, tourism officials urge them to book hotel and even restaurant reservations early.
The British — and other tourists from around the world — are coming.
