NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City’s night sky lit up with bright, mesmerizing colors for a spectacular Fourth of July fireworks show at Macy’s on Tuesday night.
More than 60,000 shells explode during a dazzling display over the East River for this year’s “Fireworks Salute to America.”
The festivities began at sunset with live music followed by a 25-minute fireworks show to a scintillating score.
Young and old spectators stood in awe on both sides of the river.
One onlooker said, “It felt amazing, it was like boom, boom, boom, boom, everything was going off at once, it was a great feeling, the lights were good, the performance, everything was good “
This year’s celebration honored pioneers, including a signature moment that featured “The Best” by the late Tina Turner, as thousands of gold-colored shells made a dramatic appearance that stretched more than a mile in the East River. A waterfall effect was created.
Other songs include ‘My Girl’ and ‘Get Ready’ by The Temptations, ‘Stop!’ Great renditions of American classics such as. ‘In the Name of Love’ and ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ by The Supremes.
Additional highlights included a performance by Amanda Shaw and the Harlem School of the Arts Dorothy Meyer Singers, as well as a performance by country star Brett Young with R.&B artist Jazmine Sullivan.
And for the first time ever, Macy’s 4th of July fireworks featured an inspiring light display just before the fireworks.
“In partnership with the City of New York, we were excited to surprise our audiences with the first live drone show in NYC before the start of the iconic Macy’s 4th of July fireworks display,” said Macy’s Executive Producer Will Coss. 4th of July Fireworks. “Millions of Americans had a front row seat as 500 drone lights graced the music performance stage, forming awe-inspiring figures above the East River and introducing the first seconds of the nation’s largest Independence Day celebration.”
The fireworks show came to a fitting end with a rendition of ‘New York, New York’.
RELATED: More fireworks celebrations are happening in New York City and the Tri-State area
Due to the diligent efforts of the NYPD the evening passed off without a hitch.
Before the fireworks show, Eddie Caban invited Eyewitness News reporter Josh Einiger to join him on his first helicopter tour as the NYPD’s new interim police commissioner.
Together they surveyed security preparedness while flying over the East River.
Caban said, “It’s amazing when you’re here.” “We’re sitting here, we get to see The Greatest Show on Earth.”
Keeping things safe Tuesday night was a big task, involving everything from airborne radiation sensors to explosives detection on the ground, but Caban said the department hasn’t lost sight of the rest of the city, where gun crime is on the rise. Still a matter of concern.
On any normal day, the NYPD has a helicopter in the sky circling the city and ready to respond to any incident. On Tuesday night, they had six, and they weren’t just focusing on the East River. They spread out over all five cities, and were ready to respond, keeping an eye on whatever might happen.
“In my role as Acting Police Commissioner, public safety is a shared responsibility right now,” Caban said. “If you see something say something, if something doesn’t feel right tell a uniformed officer or call 911.”
Independence Day celebrations in New York City, including fireworks, are “attractive targets for attacks,” according to an NYPD assessment obtained by ABC News, but there was no known threat.
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