More than 165,000,000 across US seek freedom from the heat on 250th anniversary

Thousands of events are being held across the US to celebrate the 250th anniversary of America’s independence from Britain, as a swathe of the country swelters in extreme heat.

The RAF’s world-famous Red Arrows will be helping mark the historic birthday by taking part in an international flypast over New York City, which was also set to host an international naval review and a flotilla of tall ships.

The Band of the Royal Marines are in the Big Apple as well to perform, having entertained crowds in Washington DC earlier in the week.

The July 4 festivities kicked off in New York with the dropping of the Times Square ball for the first time in its history on a day other than New Year’s Eve.

It was lowered a total of eight times as it marked midnight and the start of Independence Day across every US time zone and populated overseas territory, starting with Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in the western Pacific.

Meanwhile, visiting Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted on July 4, 1776, Britain’s ambassador to the US hailed the relationship subsequently forged between the two nations as ‘vital, consequential and enduring’.

Throughout the week in Washington, military jets had roared overhead as part of the build-up to a packed schedule of flyovers and aerial demonstrations on Saturday, which was to include F-22 Raptors, the US Air Force’s Thunderbirds display squadron and B-1 stealth bombers.

While fireworks are a staple of the nationwide celebrations, US President Donald Trump promised a pyrotechnic display in the capital, which would be the biggest in the nation’s history.

He was also due to give another speech on Saturday evening at the National Mall, the park that stretches from Congress to the Lincoln Memorial, which has been the focus of events to mark the 250th anniversary.

On the West Coast, Los Angeles was celebrating with a giant concert, a free street party and a drone show.

But with July 4 forecast to be the hottest on record for millions of Americans in the eastern US, triggering heat alerts, officials have urged people to take safety precautions and stay hydrated.

Temperatures were set to hit 38C (101F) in New York and 40C (104F) in Washington, while Little Rock in Arkansas was expected to report a high of 42C (108F).

In readiness, vans were being deployed in New York City, staffed by nurses and paramedics to hand out water and sunscreen, while cooling centers will also be open.

Event organizers in Washington were also providing water stations, cooling facilities and medical support.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, a planned Salute to Independence parade on Friday was cancelled due to the heat.

And although Independence Day has traditionally been a time to bring people together and remember a shared history, the anniversary festivities have not escaped the divisions facing the country, with Trump accused of using the milestone to promote himself rather than fostering unity.

This was underlined with the creation last year of Freedom 250, an organisation aligned with the White House, which has come to rival America250, a bipartisan group founded by Congress a decade ago to plan activities.

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