Chicago 2021 Fireworks Back On: Lakefront Show Set For July 3

CHICAGO, IL — Fourth of July fireworks will again light up Chicago's skyline and lakefront for the first time since 2019. Mayor Lori Lightfoot made a surprise announcement Friday that Chicago's 2021 fireworks show was back on for July 3, heralding the city's reopening and the start of summer.

"Putting on a grandiose fireworks display to celebrate both our city's reopening and Independence Day is an excellent way to kick off the summer we've all been waiting for," Mayor Lightfoot said in a news release.

The 2021 Chicago fireworks show will be put on from a more elevated setting than Navy Pier, which means more Chicagoans will be able to take in the dazzling spectacle. Spectators can catch views of the fireworks show along the lakefront between Grand Avenue, south to around 55th Street.

The city teased its Fourth of July fireworks in mid-June, but did not offer details about the event until Friday afternoon. Navy Pier announced in late June that its popular Independence Day fireworks show was called off in 2021 for the second year in a row because of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Navy Pier's fireworks cancellation was attributed "to the previously unknown status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chicago this summer and its impact on the Pier’s ability to successfully plan for the large-scale celebration in advance."

Navy Pier will feature live music and dancing July 3 from 2 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and July 4 from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Tune in to WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM to hear music that will be simulcast to accompany the 2021 Chicago fireworks show.

Related: Fireworks Near Me: Chicago’s 4th Of July 2021