ORLANDO, Fla. – This year, Fourth of July celebrations may look a little different, but there’s some added meaning.
News 6 teamed up with the city of Orlando for a special 90-minute show entitled “Our City of Heroes: A July 4th Celebration.”
Typically, the city presents a grand fireworks show at Lake Eola each year, with up to 150,000 in attendance.
But Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said this year, because of COVID-19 concerns, things are going to look a little different.
“Based on everything that’s been happening with COVID-19, the city of Orlando, in conjunction with our partner News 6, has decided to hold a virtual fireworks at the fountain this year rather than the real thing,” Dyer said. “It’s a pretty easy decision, really. I can’t imagine the CDC guidelines would suggest that we had a gathering of 120,000 to 150,000 people to watch fireworks in July.”
The first hour of the show focused on everyday heroes from the city of Orlando, especially those that have gone the extra mile in making great contributions to the community during the coronavirus pandemic. Honorees included a variety of volunteers, first responders, healthcare workers and more.
The special ran from 8-9:30 p.m. Saturday, July 4, and featured a compilation of the brightest and biggest fireworks from the past several years at Lake Eola.