By Jack Tomczuk
Philadelphia has long had the Mummers Parade and fireworks to ring in the new year, but a fresh wrinkle is being added to the city’s festivities next week. It could become a tradition.
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration is preparing to host a free concert Wednesday, Dec. 31, on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to welcome 2026, when the city intends to host a plethora of events to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“Everyone has said, ‘Well Philadelphia’s never done this before.’ It’s true. Welcome to my world,” Parker said at a news conference Monday. “It is because we want the city to feel the excitement and, quite frankly, the potential of 2026 from the very beginning.”
LL Cool J, who called off his performance at Philadelphia’s Fourth of July concert due to the AFSCME District Council 33 strike, is headlining the show. DJ Jazzy Jeff, Adam Blackstone, hard rock band Dorothy, and Technician the DJ are also set to take the stage.
“The hope is that it goes so well that we say this may become something that the City of Philadelphia works to do every year,” Parker added.
Blackstone, a musician, writer and producer and graduate of the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, is set to debut a new song about the city, titled “Brotherly Love,” at the concert, officials said.
Gates to the non-ticketed event at Eakins Oval will open at 6 p.m. Entrances will be at the Binswanger Triangle (2300 Benjamin Franklin Parkway) and at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Spring Garden Street, according to the administration. Attendees will need to clear a security checkpoint to access the area.
Street closures, parking restrictions and an enhanced police presence are planned for the area around the Art Museum, Eakins Oval and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and wrap up just before midnight, in time for a fireworks show.
New Year revelers will also have the opportunity to take in a pyrotechnic display along the Delaware River in Old City at 6 p.m. and midnight. Three barges will be stationed along the waterway – usually, only one is present – so it will be the largest fireworks production in the city’s history, said Joseph Forkin, president and CEO of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation.
Organizers want to drum up enthusiasm for the 250th, also known as the Semiquincentennial, when Philadelphia is set to host FIFA Men’s World Cup matches, the MLB All-Star Game, a supercharged July 4 celebration and other events.
In September, Parker’s office announced an initiative to bring “activations, beautifications and celebrations” to neighborhoods across the city as part of the festivities.
Most of those activities will occur during the warmer months. The mayor, who acknowledged that she does not handle frigid temperatures well, said she is pushing for accommodations for the crowds expected to flock to the Parkway on New Year’s Eve.
“I’m hoping and praying for heat lamps,” Parker added. “I’m not guaranteeing them.”