NYC to give out 100,000 free tickets to Macy’s 4th of July fireworks show
South Street Seaport. 2019 fireworks. Photo credit: Jane Kratochvil
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday opened a lottery for 100,000 free tickets to the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks show next week. In celebration of its 50th July 4th event, and coinciding with America 250, Macy’s will expand the show to the East River, the Hudson River, and the Brooklyn Bridge. The event is free to watch without a ticket, but those who are selected by the lottery will get a front-row seat to the spectacle, which includes more than 85,000 shells and 30 colors. The lottery is open now through Monday, June 29, at 11:59 p.m.
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks will be visible from any area with an unobstructed view of the sky above the East River in the Seaport, the Hudson River in Jersey City, and of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Over the Brooklyn Bridge, 12 pyrotechnic animations will be projected, including a 1,600-foot-wide USA flag. There will also be an inverted rainbow from the bridge cable and a cascading eight-layer rainbow from the roadway. According to Macy’s, the show includes 85,000 total shells and 20,000 effects.
The show will be set to a musical score produced and arranged by Jason Howland. The 27-minute musical score “recreates the quintessential sounds of five decades of American summers,” according to Macy’s, with songs from 1976 and beyond. The fireworks will begin at 9:25 p.m.
Noah Kahan, Post Malone, Salt-N-Pepa, Bebe Rexha, Shaboozey, and Blake Shelton will be performing at a televised show at Pier 17 before the fireworks. Viewers can tune into NBC and Peacock starting at 8 p.m.
Lottery winners will be chosen at random; location and residency are not part of the selection process. Each winner can bring three guests and select from four separate viewing zones, three of which are in Brooklyn Bridge Park and one in the South Street Seaport. Winners will be announced between June 30 and July 3.
In Manhattan, non-ticked viewing locations will be along the FDR in Manhattan. More information on access points will be released soon.
In Jersey City, viewing locations are along the Hudson River at Exchange Place, the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, and at the Colgate Clock near Essex Street.
Jersey City is hosting an all-day festival with vendors and programming on Montgomery Street, Washington Street, Warren Street, Christopher Columbus Drive, and the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway.
Last year, the city under former Mayor Eric Adams also gave out 100,000 free tickets. Previously, the city would set aside just 10,000.
