National Independence Day Parade
The National Independence Day Parade also known as the July 4 Parade is an annual military & civilian parade in the National Capital Region of the United States that is held on the occasion of the Fourth of July holiday. It is the largest and foremost parade held in the United States during the holiday celebrations. It has historically taken place on the capital's Constitution Avenue and usually goes past many national monuments until the parade one mile parade route ends at 17th Street. The 2 hour parade includes Government nominated marching bands, military units, floats, balloons, equestrian units, drill teams, celebrities, and VIP's. The parade is sponsored and co-produced by Music Celebrations International and the National Park Service, which organizes the parade events. Annual performers and contingents include the 257th Army Band, the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the joint-service honor guard battalion of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, officers of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, representatives of the foreign expatriate communities and the Government nominated representatives of the high schools and colleges and cultural groups inside the DCPS and from each of the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the federal overseas dependencies.
The parade is live-streamed to millions and is usually uploaded to the social media site YouTube within hours after its conclusion, enabling the parade to be shown to millions of Americans all over the country and to online viewers all over the world, both live and then during the uploaded version.
The event occurs on the same day as A Capitol Fourth concert, and in 2019 the Salute to America.
