White House announces Washington Monument illumination to kick off America's 250th celebration
President Donald Trump's plans for wide-scale celebrations to commemorate the nation's 250th birthday begin on New Year's Eve with illumination of the Washington Monument on the National Mall, the White House announced Wednesday.
"TONIGHT: The Illumination of America on the Washington Monument kicks off the celebration of America’s 250th birthday year 🇺🇸" an official White House X account posted.
The monument lighting will continue for five nights, as a "projection-mapping spectacle will illuminate the Monument, creating an immersive, luminous canvas that narrates our Nation’s discovery, expansion, independence, and vision for the future," according to Freedom 250, the organization tasked with organizing the nation's birthday celebrations. "This Washington Monument illumination is the opening signature moment of a year-long series of marquee national events celebrating the triumph of the American spirit."
The 'Illumination of America' monument lighting will begin at 7 p.m. ET, with acts playing at the top of every hour until 12:15 a.m. on New Year's Day, Freedom 250 announced. The acts will also play from 7:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. ET between the dates of Jan. 1 through Jan. 5. Fireworks will display Thursday at 12:01 a.m. and again on Jan. 5 at 7:55 p.m., the organization said.
On social media, Freedom 250 and the White House teased photos of the National Monument illuminated, taken during testing. The displays had been tested on Monday and Tuesday night, according to a White House official.
One photo shows a side of the monument that features a picture from the Apollo 11 mission and another with a phrase from the Declaration of Independence: 'they are endowed by their Creator.'
Trump last week had outlined festivities the White House is planning for next year to commemorate the nation's birthday, saying he was making good on his pledge to give America "the most spectacular birthday party the world has ever seen."
Another one of those festivities, the construction of a "triumphal arch," which he has said is set to be built near the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, will begin “sometime in the next two months," according to an interview published by Politico on Wednesday.
According to the interview, Trump said: “It hasn’t started yet. It starts sometime in the next two months. It’ll be great. Everyone loves it...They love the ballroom too. But they love the Triumphal Arch.”
