US President Donald Trump has boasted about his upcoming 4th of July celebrations, which are set to include an audacious attempt at breaking a Guinness World Record.
The comments have given Americans brief insight into what to expect as organisers scramble to prepare for extremely high temperatures.
The event, set to be held on Saturday night at Washington, D.C.’s National Mall, has been dubbed the ‘Salute to America’. Organisers recently told the New York Post to expect a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ event.
The celebrations will kick off with one of NASA’s supersonic F-5 light fighter jets streaking across the skies in DC before a series of Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, Hornets, Raptors and 35 stealth fighters follow.
The US Army’s Golden Knights parachutists will also make a number of jumps from the skies, with Trump’s new Air Force One set to make a couple of passes through the skies.
The US President is then expected to arrive at the National Mall, where he will address the crowd against the backdrop of the Lincoln Memorial. ‘He’ll reflect on the last 250 years of this still very young country,’ one organiser told The Post.
US Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
However, Trump’s speech is expected to be far from apolitical. Those in attendance can expect a number of jabs from the US president at the Democrats who recently unseated Republican congressional incumbents in the midterm elections.
Organisers are also racing against the clock to prepare for the extreme heat expected over the weekend.
Forecasters are predicting a blistering heatwave, with temperatures in Washington, DC, expected to rise above 37C.
The US President has made it clear that the blistering heat will not stop him. ‘By the way, on July 4th, it’s going to be approximately 107 degrees out, and I’m gonna go, and I’m gonna make a really long speech just to show that I can do anything,’ he said.
Officials have even asked that attendees arrive no earlier than 4 pm at the event to minimise the time they spend in the heat. Water and cooling stations are also being made available to help deal with the heat.
Aside from lengthy speeches and flyovers by military aircraft, Trump is hoping to break records with his fireworks display. More than 850,000 fireworks are set to be launched from two land sites and eight barges after the speech concludes.
If the audacious feat is pulled off successfully, it will shatter the Guinness World Record for the largest firework display in history.
In an unusual development, the National Mall’s Independence Day celebrations have been designated as a National Special Security Event, a status typically reserved for major political rallies and gatherings of world leaders.
The special designation means that Secret Service agents will be in charge of organising all security at the event. It comes after the FBI successfully foiled a chilling plot to launch a drone attack at the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House Lawn.
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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