BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Many came from far and wide to camp out on the Charles River Esplanade to celebrate the Fourth of July, hours before the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular Thursday night.
One family from Ohio got in line on the Esplanade Wednesday for the show.
Dela Garza has been coming to the show for the last five years from Houston, Texas.
“I started coming to this after the marathon bombing, I decided we need to support Boston,” Garza said.
Composer Keith Lockheart will return for the 25th time to lead the orchestra.
"It's really one of the parts of my job that never gets old," Lockheart said. "It is a chance to connect with the community in Boston, Massachusetts, around the country, and even beyond, in a way that we can't at any other time. What orchestra would not want to have a half-million or so people coming along for the ride just in the live audience?"
Over 1,000 law enforcement officials, including more than 700 Massachusetts State Police officers, are at the Esplanade in an effort to keep the public safe.
"We have all divisions of the State Police represented to include our Marine unit, our air wing, our canine unit, our mounted unit," State Police's Major Richard Ball said at a press conference. " Uniform and plainclothes officers, so some of our assets you'll see, some of them you won't."
Ball asked the public to speak up if anything suspicious is seen.
The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular will include performances from Queen Latifah and Arlo Guthrie.
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WBZ NewsRadio's Kevin Coleman (@KevinColemanWBZ) reports