Philly will ring in 2026 with its biggest fireworks display yet

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philly’s New Year’s Eve festivities are promising to be the biggest yet.

Crews at the Navy Yard were busy on Monday loading fireworks for the two fireworks spectacles over the Delaware River. Those shows are in addition to the display along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

And, LL Cool J will headline a free concert along the Parkway before the fireworks show at midnight. The concert will include performances by Philly’s own DJ Jazzy Jeff, Adam Blackstone, the hard rock band Dorothy, and Technician the DJ. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. Gates open at 6 p.m.

Here’s what you need to know about ringing in the new year in Philly.

The 6 p.m. and midnight fireworks shows will have different themes, with one thing in common: They will be fired from three locations on the Delaware River, said Erika Joy Erb, vice president of marketing for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation.

“It is three barges. So usually it’s just one. But this year, in addition to the additional barges, we’re going to have bigger shells that are going to light up the skies so that you can see the shows from further away,” Erb said.

Paul Gaffney, regional operations manager with the firm Pyrotecnico, said his crew is loading those shells into mortars and wiring them to a computer, which will synchronize the show to the musical soundtrack.

“There’ll be chrysanthemums, there’ll be rings, there’ll be almost any shape object. There’ll be mines, comets, all kinds of devices,” he said.

With the ongoing I-95 CAP construction, Erb recommends taking SEPTA or PATCO to get to Penn’s Landing.

The firework displays are free, but people can get a closer view through paid ticketed viewing parties at the RiverRink, including one at Cherry Street Pier, which will feature a Philly icon.

“We’re so excited about the addition of partnering with the National Liberty Museum, who is going to bring a 2,000-pound replica of the Liberty Bell — which, get this, you can actually ring,” Erb said.

If you can’t make it in person, don’t worry, you can listen to the whole thing on KYW Newsradio at 103.9 FM, 1060 AM, or on the Audacy app.

🎆 Click here for information on parking and road closure for fireworks on the Parkway

Of course, it wouldn’t be New Year’s in Philly without the annual Mummers Parade, which steps off from City Hall at 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day.

The Mummers Parade is the nation’s first folk festival, and it has certainly evolved since its start in 1901. The Mummers consist of the Fancies, Wench Brigades, Comics, and the String Band divisions. This year’s parade — the 125th event — will include one Fancy club, 10 Wench Brigades, three Comic clubs, and 14 String Bands.

Listen to some of the history behind the tradition in the player below:

🤡 Click here for information on parking and road closures for the Mummers Parade

Philadelphia was one of the first cities in the country — in the colonies, actually — to outlaw celebratory gunfire. But every year, law enforcement officials have to plead with residents not to fire guns into the air on New Year’s Eve.

In 1721, the governor of Pennsylvania imposed a five-shilling fine, or two days in jail, for anyone who fired a gun into the air in Philadelphia.

“I thought it was a pretty interesting part of American history that this has been such a pervasive problem for so long,” said University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor Thomas Chittum.

He has written about the phenomenon of celebratory gunfire, which was also outlawed in New York for three days surrounding New Year’s and in Boston in 1746, when the fine was up to 40 shillings.

“You’d hope that people after hundreds of years of experience would start to see the wisdom of not shooting guns in the air,” he said.

Alas, the practice continues, with often tragic results. Last New Year’s Eve, a 16-year-old girl in Chester, Delaware County, was critically wounded when a bullet, apparently fired randomly, entered her bedroom. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel is once again pleading with gun owners to keep them locked up for the holiday.

“Just remember, whatever you put into the air will come down,” he said. “I want you to close your eyes and think about your family being out during the New Year’s celebration and that bullet coming down and striking them.”