Washington, DC – There are fisticuffs on the White House lawn, soon to be followed by a high-speed race through the National Mall. What is going on in Washington, DC?
The United States capital has been transformed in honour of the country’s 250th anniversary.
Events all around the country are planned to mark two and a half centuries since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
The nationwide bash has been dubbed the “semiquincentennial” — meaning half of 500 — and not just because Congress loves long words. The US has a history of throwing itself a party every 50 years.
But US President Donald Trump has promised a particularly noteworthy event this year, though the proceedings have been marred by a cavalcade of controversies.
Here’s what to know:
The first 50-year anniversary, in 1826, was a considerably more muted affair than the festivities to come.
At the time, some of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence were still alive, so the mayor of Washington, DC, invited them to attend the celebration in the capital.
Former Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both demurred, citing their failing health. They died within hours of each other on the day of the semicentennial.
Fifty years later, in 1876, the US would mark its 100th anniversary by hosting its first world’s fair, an exhibition featuring displays of art, culture and technology from around the globe.
The fair was held in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the original document was put on temporary display in the city.
Another world’s fair arrived in Philadelphia for the country’s 150th anniversary in 1926, but it was not nearly as successful. Variety magazine called it “America’s greatest flop”.
Meanwhile, the modern template for having a yearlong, cross-country celebration was set on the 200th anniversary in 1976.
A train-mounted museum of documents and historical artefacts toured the lower 48 states for 21 months. Volunteers, meanwhile, used covered wagons to travel the width of the country.
The celebrations were generally received positively, although the sale of souvenirs — from umbrella hats to mugs — earned it the pejorative “the buy-centennial”.
While the US capital may be the centre of this year’s celebration, there will be a multitude of events across the country. They include:
Mobile museums, known as Freedom Trucks, will also be travelling around the country.
Another initiative is America’s Block Party, an effort to encourage communities to engage in charitable works and host their own semiquincentennial parties.
So far, however, there appears to be no government programme in the works to tackle the holiday’s most vexing and far-reaching problem: how to make the traditional July 4 potato salad less bland.
One of the most scrutinised events in the semiquincentennial calendar is UFC Freedom 250, which will take place on the White House lawn on Sunday.
The timing of the event is one of the details that have wiggled eyebrows. Sunday is a holiday known as Flag Day, but it also marks Trump’s 80th birthday.
The event is also being staged by one of Trump’s most prominent political donors: Dana White, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
White has described Sunday’s event as designed “to tell the story of America”. There will be two title fights: a lightweight bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje and a heavyweight interim title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, as well as several smaller “undercard” matches.
Despite bearing the title “Freedom 250”, the UFC event is not being organised by the White House task force of the same name.
A Freedom 250 spokesperson clarified that the presidential group “has not been responsible for the operations, logistics or funding of the UFC White House event”.
That point has been central to ongoing debates about whether the fight represents a conflict of interest for Trump, who holds stock in UFC’s parent company.
On Friday, a federal judge rejected an emergency petition to stop the fight, on the premise that Trump was using government property to promote his private business interests.
White has told the ESPN sport broadcaster that his organisation was paying for the event.
There are two government-backed nonprofits organising festivities for the anniversary: Freedom 250 and America250.
The former is part of a White House task force, and the latter is a bipartisan organisation created in 2016 by the US Congress.
America250 was set up in 2016 to “plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence”, and it is led by private citizens.
The Freedom 250, meanwhile, is a public-private partnership within the National Parks Foundation, the charitable arm of the National Park Service, a federal agency.
It is ostensibly the public-facing side of the White House Task Force 250, which Trump established in 2025 “to plan, organize, and execute” the semiquincentennial. Trump is also the task force’s chair.
The two groups’ event-planning philosophies do not overlap much.
Freedom 250 focuses mostly on big, marquee functions, such as the IndyCar race, the World Cup Fan Zone and Sail4th 250, which will see an armada of tall ships and military vessels travel to US cities along the Atlantic coast.
The America250 organisation has been more focused on community participation through initiatives such as America’s Block Party and its Giving 4th programme, which aims to boost charitable giving on the July 4 holiday.
So Freedom 250 and America250 are not stepping on each other’s toes?
Not really, and they’re ostensibly playing nice, with America250’s chairwoman, Rosie Rios, lauding Freedom 250 as a way to advance presidential initiatives to “give the American people more ways they can celebrate America’s 250th birthday”.
But this is Washington, DC, so some elbows are being thrown.
The creation of White House Task Force 250 was widely viewed as a manoeuvre by Trump to seize control of the celebrations, outside of congressional oversight.
The launch of Freedom 250 came just two months after the appointee Trump picked to lead America250, Ari Abergel, was fired for “serious and repeated breaches” of his authority. Abergel has denied overstepping his mandate.
Neither the congressionally created America250 nor the White House’s Freedom 250 are required to disclose its private donors.
But critics point out there are fewer guardrails with Freedom 250 than with America250.
America250’s parent commission is required to submit an annual report to Congress detailing funding and spending.
Freedom 250, meanwhile, lists some “sponsors” and “partners” online, but it is not subject to any independent oversight. That lack of transparency has been a recurring complaint.
In February, The New York Times reported that Freedom 250 was offering access to a reception hosted by Trump in exchange for large donations.
But the newspaper USA Today also pointed out that America250 offered packages that included invitations to events where government officials would be in attendance.
Both groups have been given taxpayer dollars. Congress appropriated $150m to the Department of the Interior for the celebrations, but it did not specify how the money was to be split between the groups.
The Interior Department allocated $100m to Freedom 250 (via the National Park Foundation) and $50m to America250, raising concerns that Trump was steering public funds away from the congressionally mandated organisation.
Critics have also questioned whether the Freedom 250 events are designed to celebrate US independence or promote Trump and his priorities.
Nearly $10m, for instance, went to supporting the Freedom Trucks, whose exhibits have been criticised for offering a whitewashed portrait of US history.
The perception that Freedom 250 is a Trump organisation, rather than a nonpartisan one, has created snags for one of its tentpole events: the Great American State Fair.
Almost as soon as its musical lineup was announced in May, artists started dropping out. Several performers said they felt misled by the organisers’ claims that the event is nonpartisan.
Several state governments have also declined to take part, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state.
A spokesperson for Oregon said in part that the fair “is shaping up to be a more partisan affair than originally presented”.
But Freedom 250 has maintained that the fair will continue with all 50 states represented on the National Mall.
Trump, meanwhile, cancelled the concert, replacing it with a “Rally to end all Rallies”, at which he will give a speech. Country musician Lee Greenwood and tenor Christopher Macchio, as well as several military bands, will also be included in the lineup.
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