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Fireworks light up US Independence Day celebrations
The US Independence Day celebrations were just as enjoyable for three elephants and a turtle as Americans watching fireworks around the country on Saturday.
- AP
- Published: 22:53 July 5, 2009
New York: The US Independence Day celebrations were just as enjoyable for three elephants and a turtle as Americans watching fireworks around the country on Saturday.
In Key West, Florida, an ailing sea turtle that was rescued in January before inauguration day and named after President Barack Obama was set free to mark the day.
And on Brooklyn's Coney Island, the elephants rested after eating 505 hot dog buns in six minutes on Friday, winning a competition against three humans who downed 143 buns.
The day began with the Statue of Liberty's crown opening to the public for the first time since September 11, 2001. After nightfall, more than 22 tonnes of pyrotechnics - America's biggest fireworks display - exploded over a mile-and-a-half stretch of the Hudson River, a new vantage point for New York's festivities.
The celebration returned to Manhattan's West Side for the first time since the 9/11 attacks. The extravaganza was expanded this year with more than 44,000 shells.
In Washington, the daylong celebrations started with a parade along Constitution Avenue and were to end with fireworks over the Washington Monument.
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama invited about 1,200 military families for festivities on Saturday night.
In Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, a parade was held through the Old City neighbourhood for the first time in 18 years.
On Saturday morning in Boston, with its rich Revolutionary War history, the Navy's oldest commissioned warship, the USS Constitution marked the day by firing a 21-gun salute, the highest maritime honour, followed by 19 volleys.
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