NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Music City will be flooded with people celebrating the Fourth of July in what's expected to be the biggest single-day event for the city.
An incredible turnout is expected for the holiday weekend as 400,000 people are expected to descend on Lower Broadway, according to Butch Spyridon, the president and CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp.
Spyridon said this feels like Christmas once again to get everything back to normal and to have something to look forward to. He said they usually would start planning six months out, but this year, they started planning in earnest in March. He said until the COVID-19 vaccine came out and they saw the acceptance rate, they weren't sure they were going to be able to do it.
When it comes to pulling this event together, Spyridon said they had the least amount of time and money planning the event, but he added it's coming together great this week.
Spyridon said it will undoubtedly be the biggest single-day event ever in Nashville and probably in the entire state, even beating out the NFL draft two years ago. The event regularly brings more than 200,000 people to downtown Nashville, with as many as 343,000 in 2019.
"Monday is a holiday the day after Brad Paisley is arguably the biggest name that we have ever had. Our fireworks are our biggest show we have ever done and there is a lot of pent-up demand. You add all that up with weather that looks really promising and it can't help but be a record crowd," Spyridon said.
It's not just the crowd sizes that are expected to be huge - Spyridon said Music City could see more than $20 million in visitor spending this weekend.
"Because it's a three-day weekend, [visitors] are going to come early, they've got to do things on Saturday, Sunday during the day, so they'll shop, they'll dine out, they'll spend the night and the entire city and state will benefit," Spyridon said.
Nashville's "Let Freedom Sing! Music City July Fourth" celebration will feature a free concert headlined by Brad Paisley and the largest fireworks show in the city's history. The event will kick off with live music starting at 4 p.m. at First Avenue and Broadway.
