Boston Holds 245th Independence Day Ceremony at Old State House After Pandemic Gap

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston returned to the Old State House for its 245th annual Independence Day ceremony, resuming in person after the event was cancelled the prior year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lieutenant Colonel Lee Fife, retired U.S. Army National Guard, served as master of ceremonies, joined on stage by Mayor Kim Janey, City Councilors Ed Flynn, Michelle Wu, and Anissa Essaibi George, Brigadier General John Driscoll of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, and Veterans Services Commissioner Robert Santiago. Captain Robert Emlich, Captain Commanding of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, delivered the full reading of the Declaration of Independence from the Old State House balcony, the same spot where the document was first read publicly to Boston's citizens on July 18, 1776. Mayor Janey, Boston's 55th mayor, connected the 245th anniversary to her childhood memory of the 1976 Bicentennial, noting she was bused to middle school that fall under court-ordered desegregation: "Standing here 45 years later as the 55th mayor, representing how far our city has come, is truly amazing." Vocalist Dana Whiteside, a Roxbury native, performed the national anthem and closed the ceremony with "God Bless America," accompanied by the Zaba Military Band.