The UFC fight

The UFC fight will take place on Sunday, June 14, at 8 p.m. The historic occasion will mark the first-ever cage match on the White House’s South Lawn, with President Donald Trump promising to be in attendance at the seven-fight lineup. 

Sunday night’s lightweight championship bout featuring Justin Gaethje versus Ilia Topuria will be the main event, but prefight festivities will take place all weekend, including a Saturday night performance from the Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band. 

Tickets to the Sunday fight are no longer available. The deadline for the public to gain admission to the Zac Brown concert and a host of other festivities planned around the UFC event at the Ellipse, a public park south of the White House, has also passed, on May 22. 

Fans can still watch the fights at designated Washington, D.C., bars, including Tom’s Watch Bar in Navy Yard, Public Bar Live in Dupont Circle, and Sports & Social on U Street, or stream the event live on Paramount+.

July 4

Weekend festivities will launch on July 3 with “A Capitol Fourth,” the star-studded concert performed live annually in Washington. The concert begins at 8 p.m., with the public invited to attend for free on the West Lawn of the Capitol. The celebration will feature the national television debut of country music icon Trace Adkins’s new song “American Made,” according to event organizers. 

On July 4, the public is invited to begin the day by attending a formal reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of the National Archives at 10 a.m. Descendants of the Founders, civic leaders, and children will recite passages from one of the country’s most important documents, giving a performance that has been a July 4 tradition for decades. 

The country’s capital city has also been promised a grand parade showcasing elaborate floats, stunning costumes, and performances “celebrating the nation’s rich history and diverse culture.” The National Independence Day Parade will start at 10:30 a.m. and run for roughly two hours, winding down Constitution Avenue. It will be the largest-ever parade, according to organizers, representing every state and territory, featuring marching bands from high schools and colleges, historical reenactors in Revolutionary War‑era attire, and more. 

If they prefer baseball to floats, residents and tourists can choose to watch the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. The hometown team will play at 11:05 a.m., with the Nats facing the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

The biggest events in the city will take place on the National Mall, where Freedom 250’s 16-day “Great American State Fair” will be in motion, and a massive free fireworks show can be seen. 

Freedom 250, the organization spearheaded by Trump to mark the 250th, is planning a momentous day for July 4, including a keynote address from the president. Organizers are planning the biggest fireworks show in history and expect over a million people to gather on the National Mall for the day’s celebrations, “in one of the grandest displays of patriotism that the world has ever seen.” The Salute to America fireworks show is free to the public. It will begin shortly after 9 p.m. and last around 30 minutes.

Freedom 250’s sixteen-day “Great American State Fair,” featuring all 50 states, will also be held on July 4 on the National Mall, anchoring the day’s festivities before the fireworks display.

The Great American State Fair

The 16-day fair will take place from June 25 through July 10, spanning from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. The fair is free to the public, though registration is encouraged. 

It will include a rodeo, a towering 110-foot Ferris wheel, and a refurbished Smithsonian carousel, alongside themed days, competitions such as quilting bee finals and talent showcases, and educational exhibits on agriculture, industry, and cultural heritage.

The event will run on the National Mall between 4th Street and 14th Street. Operating hours will be 10 a.m. to  9 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. until midnight on July 4, according to organizers. 

A concert featuring a wide range of entertainers had been planned as part of the fair’s lineup. However, it was canceled and replaced with an event announced by Trump after a slew of performers pulled out of the celebration, citing concerns about its connections to the president. 

The new concert will feature country icon Lee Greenwood, military bands, and other performers on June 24 at 7 p.m. 

“In celebration of our Country’s 250 Year History, we will be bringing you, LIVE, the Greatest Rally, EVER!” Trump said. “It will be special at every level — A Rally to end all Rallies! We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we’ve told them all to stay home. All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!” 

The IndyCar Race

Freedom 250’s  IndyCar race has been touted by officials as a once-in-a-lifetime event. The Aug. 22 to 23 “Grand Prix” event will be free to the public and is expected to bring around a million visitors to the city, generating up to $200 million in revenue. Organizers have already been flooded with over 288,000 ticket requests for the event, as fans vie for 100,000 tickets available through a lottery system. 

“The ticket request process ended last Sunday at midnight; it went for nine days, from Friday till Sunday, and there were 288,000 ticket requests,” Penske’s Bud Denker, who is helping to organize the Grand Prix, told RACER on Tuesday. “If we’d left it open five more days, we’d be up to Indy 500 numbers. Now we’re going back to my office to start putting the filtration process into place in terms of who gets the tickets, because we can’t accommodate 280,000 people. Even if we divide that by 140,000 people a day, we just can’t process that many people happily through magnetometers.”

The 1.7-mile seven-turn race course will go around the National Mall, with cars roaring past stretches featuring the Capitol and stretches of the historic Pennsylvania and Independence avenues, as well as 3rd, 9th, and 7th streets.

“When we think about America’s 250 years, it’s really hard to think about anything that’s more American than cars,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in March. “It’s been said. Americans have always we had love affair with their cars, and this has been the center of innovation in ours in a major, major industry. So it’s a combination of both history and horsepower that’s going to be happening here.” 

Freedom 250 CEO Keith Krach told the Sports Business Journal last month that he hopes to make the Grand Prix an annual event. 

“That hasn’t been determined yet, but I think everybody’s thinking that way and hoping that way,” he said.

World Cup watch parties

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming up from June 11 to July 19, Washington is planning a series of watch parties. Though no games will be played in the district, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Tuesday that the city’s home soccer team is hosting festivities in Franklin Park from June 12 to 14 and at Tingey Plaza in Navy Yard from June 19 to 21. 

Both events are free to the public, but registration is required.

“D.C. is a soccer city — and we’re a city that likes to celebrate sports,” Bowser said. “There’s a lot happening in our city over the next few weeks, and we want people to enjoy D.C., enjoy the company of other fans, and have a great World Cup experience in the sports capital.”

In addition, Freedom 250 is hosting watch parties for select games on the National Mall, between 3rd Street, NW and 4th Street, NW. The FIFA World Cup Fan Zone is showing every Team USA match and select non-USA games. 

“[The] experience will serve as a gathering place for families, fans, and visitors to enjoy live match broadcasts, interactive activities, great food, and immersive entertainment in the heart of the nation’s capital,” Freedom 250’s website reads. “Set among the monuments and memorials that tell America’s story, the experience will showcase the energy, hospitality, and optimism that define our country. “

Honorable mention: The Patriot Games

The Trump administration announced last December that it is planning an “unprecedented” four-day “Patriot Games” high school competition in Washington in the fall. Few details are known about the event, though it is expected to feature over 100 athletes aged 14 to 17 from all 50 states, U.S. territories, and tribes.

TRUMP PREPARES FOR US 250TH BIRTHDAY WITH NEW PROJECT TO HONOR HEROES

Trump said “one young man and one young woman from each state and territory” will be selected to participate in the contest.

Organizers are planning to match teenage competitors with celebrity coaches for the televised athletic contest, according to CNN. Possible volunteers must submit an online video application responding to several prompts to explain why they want to be chosen to represent their state.