Liberty Weekend
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Liberty Weekend was a four-day celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. It began on July 3, 1986 with the Opening Ceremonies on Governors Island and ended on July 6, 1986 with the Closing Ceremonies at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
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[edit] Origins
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, under the leadership of Chrysler chair Lee Iacocca, had been restoring the Statue of Liberty since the early 1980s. The restoration was completed just in time for the statue's one-hundredth birthday in 1986. They decided to pay tribute to Liberty in a "birthday party" on Fourth of July Weekend of that year.
[edit] Opening ceremonies
The opening ceremonies of Liberty Weekend were held on Thursday July 3, 1986 on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Among those who attended were Gene Kelly, Gregory Peck, and Steven Spielberg. After musical performances by Debbie Allen, Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra among others, President Ronald Reagan delivered two speeches, one during the middle of the event, unveiling the newly restored Statue, and one at the end where he lit Liberty's torch and ushered in a small round of fireworks set to "Stars and Stripes Forever", conducted by John Williams. ABC's Ted Koppel then announced the recipients of the Medal of Liberty.
[edit] July 4
Friday July 4, 1986 opened with Operation Sail 1986, as battleships and the tall ships of old were welcomed into New York Harbor. Of this, President Reagan remarked:
"The procession that we are about to witness will be as colorful as fireworks, as majestic as Lady Liberty herself... It will speak to us of the past, of the days when great ships like these dropped anchor in our harbors to unload tea from China, whale oil from open seas, and, yes, immigrants from around the world."
Later that night an Americana Concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra again conducted by John Williams was held at Liberty State Park with performances by Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Johnny Cash, Joel Grey, and John Denver. President Reagan then delivered a short address aboard the USS John F. Kennedy before a lavish 30-minute fireworks show. At the time, it was the largest in the United States.
 Operation Sail 1986 |
 The opening of the Americana Concert on July 4 |
[edit] July 5 and closing ceremonies
On Saturday July 5, 1986 a New York Philharmonic concert was held in Central Park. Earlier in the day First Lady Nancy Reagan had re-opened the Statue to the public accompanied by 100 French and American School children. The following day, the Closing Ceremonies grand finale took place at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
[edit] Broadcast
The entire event was broadcast on ABC with Peter Jennings and Barbara Walters as commentators. ABC News had paid $10 Million for broadcasting rights. CBS also broadcast parts of the event, including Operation Sail 1986.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/70386d.htm was Ronald Reagan's speech when he unveiled the Statue at Opening Ceremonies.
- http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/70386e.htm was Ronald Reagan's speech when he re-light the Statues torch ushering in the fireworks during Opening Ceremonies.
- http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/70486a.htm was Ronald Reagan's speech on the morning of July 4, during Operation Sail
- http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/70486c.htm was Ronald Reagan's speech on the night of July 4 on the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67).
- http://www.tcmdb.com/title/title.jsp?stid=465785 is a Turner Classic Movies article about the event.
- http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961667-1,00.html is an article in Time Magazine about the event, written for the July 7, 1986 edition.
