It has taken the Walt Disney Company over a year to plan out the upcoming 24-hour Disney Celebrates America broadcast, which starts tonight.
Broadcast Planning
“The first meeting I had about this was in April of last year,” Seni Tienabaso, vice president of ABC News Live, told Variety of the Disney Celebrates America coverage. The broadcast starts tonight at 10 p.m. and lasts throughout tomorrow for the 4th of July.
Led by World News Tonight anchor David Muir and featuring anchor Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America co-anchors Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, and Michael Strahan, Nightline co-anchors Juju Chang and Byron Pitts, 20/20 co-anchor Deborah Roberts, Prime anchor and World News Tonight Sunday anchor Linsey Davis, The View co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, and Sara Haines along with more of the ABC News team and talent, the expansive programming event takes viewers across all 50 states to explore the people, places, and defining moments of the nation’s 250-year history.
According to Variety, the broadcast endeavor has spanned staff from throughout the Walt Disney Company. The overnight broadcasts will include Good Morning America visits to all 50 states.
“There is a lot more live than there is taped in this,” Tienabaso told the outlet. “We are curating every live shot, every bit of tape. With all of the people fanned out across the country.” He also noted that he anticipates working from 5 a.m. on the 4th until 11 p.m. ABC News executive Simone Swink told Variety that Disney Celebrates America was championed by Debra OConnell, chairman of Disney Entertainment Television, and Almin Karamehmedovic, president of ABC News.
Disney Celebrates America
Featuring live celebrations, immersive storytelling, performances, and reporting from locations across the country, the broadcast delivers a comprehensive, daylong tribute to America’s past, present, and future.
Alongside a special edition of Good Morning America, World News Tonight with David Muir, and Nightline, curated segments include:
- Disney Celebrates America: Nashville’s Star-Spangled Bash is a one-of-a-kind live celebration with must-see performances by iconic artists and musical acts spanning multiple genres. In collaboration with the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and ITV America Nashville, hundreds of thousands are expected to gather in person in the heart of downtown Nashville for this milestone event, which will also feature one of the largest fireworks and drone shows in the United States set to a live score by the GRAMMY® Award-winning Nashville Symphony.
- Countdown to America’s 250th reporting features rare access inside the Statue of Liberty with a once-in-a-lifetime tribute, produced in close partnership with the Consulate General of France in New York
- GMA’s “50 States in 50 Weeks: America The Beautiful,” a culmination of the showcase series of the beauty of America’s land and people
- Dawn of America tracing American history from colonial times through the Declaration of Independence
- A look at the brave U.S. military service members, veterans, and their families who have helped defend their country for two and half centuries
- America Expands Westward highlighting America’s growth through a cross-country adventure including broadcasts from Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Wonder with celebrations from Ketchikan, Alaska
- Innovation and Invention presenting a special look at the birth of Hollywood cinema, the history of American fashion, the space race, and more
- Wonders of America, a special collaboration between ABC News anchors and National Geographic Explorers
The Wonders of America broadcast segment will feature the newly announced “Seven Natural Wonders of America,” a list created in collaboration between National Geographic and ABC News, highlighting the extraordinary and awe-inspiring locations across the country that represent the beauty of the United States of America. The first wonder revealed Tuesday on Good Morning America was the Hawaii volcanoes, with six more sites to be revealed on the Fourth of July during the broadcast with on-the-ground reporting from ABC News talent.
National Geographic will further explore the nation’s stories through an expansive summer storytelling package across print, digital, and social platforms launching June 16.
ESPN’s flagship news and information program, SportsCenter, will present a special two-hour edition live on ABC on July 4 from 2 to 4 p.m. PT/5 to 7 p.m. ET, celebrating the people, moments, and stories that have shaped American sports culture. Co-hosted by Kevin Negandhi and Christine Williamson, the program will feature live reports from SportsCenter anchors across the country alongside original storytelling, historical retrospectives, and talent-driven segments from ESPN’s top personalities. Coverage will include features on iconic American sports moments and the enduring cultural impact of sports in America, complemented by essays and SC Featured storytelling.
ESPN.com will feature “AMERICA 250 Road Trips: A journey through the mystery and majesty of sports,” a five-day series of stories to mark America’s 250th anniversary on July 4. Five ESPN reporters followed a custom road trip to explore how sports shaped the country’s identity. The visual-heavy presentations will include maps, illustrations, photography, videos, and graphics.
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