PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Fourth of July celebrations kicked into high gear (and high heat) on Thursday. The day of festivities started with the creation of a “living Liberty Bell.”
On the lawn at Independence Mall, 250 people formed the shape of one of the city’s most iconic symbols, the Liberty Bell.
Those who formed the outline of the bell wore white T-shirts, including Miss America and all 53 of this year’s Miss America delegates. The top of the bell and the crack featured people in blue, and volunteers in red filled in the rest.
“Their T-shirt actually says, ‘I was a part of the human Liberty Bell on July 2, 2026,” said Amy Needle, president and CEO of Historic Philadelphia, which helped organize the event.
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Amy Mitchell was thrilled to don a red tee in the lineup.
“I can’t even put it into words,” she said. “Growing up here, going on the field trips to the Betsy Ross House as kids, we really didn’t appreciate it then as children. But now as an adult, all the history and culture that’s here in Philly, it’s something amazing.”
Charles Updike, from Levittown, is a Phambassador for the 250th, one of many volunteers who are taking part in such events to promote the city.
“It’s great,” he said. “I have some memories of 1976 [the bicentennial]; I was very young. But it’s great to be part of all that’s going on all weekend.”
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Rev. Carolyn Cavaness with Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church helped make up the blue portion of the bell.
“This exercise of bringing us together this morning … [shows] how we’re a great mosaic, a great textile, a great reflection of who America is and should endeavor to be,” she said.
A drone captured photos and video of the living bell from above, displaying a real, lasting image of Philly celebrating America’s 250th.
