Thousands enjoy three simultaneous Fourth of July fireworks shows along Long Beach coastline

Fourth of July looked a little bit different in Long Beach this year — but, perhaps, even more spectacular.

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That’s because for the first time, instead of a single fireworks display to celebrate the country’s birthday, the city put on three separate 20-minute fireworks spectaculars along the coastline — all at once — in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.

The event, dubbed Sea to Shining Sea LBC, was organized in partnership with Visit Long Beach. But it was also a passion project brought to life by John Morris, the owner of Boathouse on the Bay, who had organized and hosted Big Bang on the Bay, an annual July 3 fireworks celebration and block party, since 2011.

Initially, Morris had been planning to go all out for the 2026 Big Bang on the Bay celebration since the 2025 event ended, he said in a previous interview. Morris even bought the fireworks he would need for the 2026 celebration last July, he said, in preparation for his celebration of America’s 250th birthday.

But because of a yearslong dispute between Morris and the California Coastal Commission, the 2026 iteration of Big Bang on the Bay was canceled.

“My whole vision was, of course, to have Big Bang be a kickoff for the country’s 250th birthday,” Morris said. “I ordered the fireworks that night, luckily, otherwise there wouldn’t be any. We laid low in hopes that the third (of July) would come together, but unfortunately it didn’t.”

The cancellation ultimately stemmed from concerns among some environmental groups and the Coastal Commission about the impacts of over-the-water fireworks on water quality and local wildlife.

The Coastal Commission, in recent years, had repeatedly argued that Morris could transition from hosting a fireworks show over Alamitos Bay to a drone show instead — saying the alternative is safer for water quality and wildlife in the area.

Concerns about Big Bang’s impact on the water and wildlife in Alamitos Bay came to a head in 2021, when nonprofit advocacy group Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation filed a lawsuit against Morris and his restaurant group, arguing that the Independence Day eve event had violated the Clean Water Act by disseminating pollutants into the water. The group’s intent was to have the event banned.

A federal judge later ruled against CERF, though the organization was able to prove in at least one instance that Big Bang on the Bay had released fireworks discharge into Alamitos Bay during the 2022 show, violating the CWA. But despite sufficient evidence to prove one CWA violation in that specific instance, the judge said at the time, there wasn’t enough proof to show ongoing pollution — or that similar pollution was likely to occur again.

That ruling, hailed by Morris as a win at the time, resulted in a new set of challenges for Big Bang on the Bay, as it set a new precedent that over-the-water fireworks shows should be regulated under that law via a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which aims to prevent water pollution by regulating the sources that cause it.

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A little more than a month after the court’s ruling, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted that new permitting process, which required fireworks show organizers to establish and comply with a plan aimed at outlining procedures to avoid water pollution.

That decision led some fireworks producers in the region to pull out of over-the-water shows and caused some events to be canceled. It also drew the ire of Morris, who, at the time, called the ruling frustrating and unnecessary. Still, Morris applied for and received the five-year NPDES permit.

The challenges for Big Bang on the Bay, though, continued.

The 2024 event was canceled — though eventually rescheduled to Labor Day eve — because the Coastal Commission application was filed too late.

While the Coastal Commission approved the 2025 event, the panel also said it would only allow a drone show or other fireworks alternative moving forward, despite concerns from both Morris, and Long Beach officials about the feasibility of putting on a drone show over Alamitos Bay. Still, Morris applied to throw Big Bang on the Bay in 2026. But the commission, true to its word, ruled against Morris in April.

So Morris instead turned his attention to helping put on an even bigger and better celebration of America’s 250th birthday.

So on Saturday evening, fireworks were launched from coastal barges at three locations. Besides the usual fireworks display at the Queen Mary, two other shows, one off the bluff at Junipero Beach near the Long Beach Museum of Art, and one near the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier at Granada Beach, were also alight at the same time.

All three shows were free and open to the public, with plenty of viewing spots along Ocean Boulevard and at the city’s beaches and bluffs, including near Lions Lighthouse, at Shoreline Village and at the Belmont Pier.

The event’s organizers expected hundreds of thousands of people to attend the events and watch the fireworks shows. Big Bang on the Bay and the Queen Mary’s Fourth of July celebrations, for example, have typically drawn more than 100,000 attendees each every year.

Besides the three fireworks shows on Fourth of July itself, Sea to Shining Sea LBC also included a week of free sporting events including coastal rowing competitions and beach sprints, kite surfing, and a water polo tournament, to pay homage to the city’s upcoming role in the 2028 Olympics and more.

“Sea to Shining LBC is a celebration of our nation’s history, our city’s future and the spirit that makes Long Beach unique,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a written statement when the event was announced early last month. “From world-class athletic competitions to a spectacular fireworks finale along our coast, this unforgettable week will salute our country and showcase Long Beach as we look toward 2028.”

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