Due to the dangerous heat expected to hit the city on Friday, the Wawa Welcome America Salute to Independence Semiquincentennial Parade has been canceled.
The change was made overnight after organizers announced on Thursday that the parade would start an hour earlier than planned.
But now, that has changed completely and there will be no parade at all.
Even as parade floats lined the roadways near Independence Hall early Friday in preparation of the event, organizers decided to cancel the parade because of the severe heat expected to impact the region.
Ahead of the cancelation, in the run up to Friday’s planned event, the start time was moved to earlier in the day and the route was shortened from the planned 2.4 mile length to just one mile, also because of the heat.
However, while the parade is canceled, the National Constitution Center event to honor Pope Leo XIV with the Liberty Medal will still be held on Friday, July 3, 2026, as it will be indoors.
And, on July 4, 2026, the One Philly: Unity Concert For America to Commemorate America’s 250th Anniversary is still set to be held on the Ben Franklin Parkway.
Other events planned for this week have also been impacted by the heat.
A planned Salute to Service concert featuring Queen Latifah that was scheduled for Thursday, was canceled due to the extreme heat, as well.
Also, SEPTA’s Regional Rail system saw delays and cancelations on Thursday as temperatures broke 100 degrees in the city.
For more information on changes to SEPTA routes due to extreme heat, click here.
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.