In pictures: The US celebrates Fourth of July

Sun, 05 Jul, 2020 - 04:47

People all over the US have braved a surging coronavirus pandemic to take part in Independence Day celebrations.

Flags and fireworks were in abundance across the country as anti-racism protesters continued to take to the streets.

The Empire State Building illuminated New York City with a fireworks display (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Fourth of July fireworks explode over the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and US Capitol in Washington (Cliff Owen/AP)

Fireworks explode over rooftops in Brooklyn (John Minchillo/AP)

President Donald Trump speaks during a ‘Salute to America’ event on the South Lawn of the White House (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The US Army Golden Knights Parachute Team descends onto the grounds of the White House (Alex Brandon/AP)

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand on the Truman Balcony of the White House as they watch a fireworks display (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Protesters burn US flags during a protest near Trump International Hotel in New York (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP)

Racial Injustice Fourth of July Virginia

People walk by as Black Lives Matter protesters march on the boardwalk at 11th Street in Virginia Beach (Kristen Zeis/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

People march in the loop in Chicago during a “Boycott 4th of July’ rally against police brutality (Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

People clad in masks as a precaution against the coronavirus walk along the Las Vegas Strip (John Locher/AP)

The precautions continued inside Vegas’s Strat hotel-casino (John Locher/AP)

Tobias Perry, left, and Samantha Rosario stand on a pedestrian bridge overlooking the downtown skyline of Providence, Rhode Island (David Goldman/AP)

Aliya Wieting, centre, digs into some shaved ice with her extended family in Lincoln, Nebraska (Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP)

Usually filled with flags, food sellers and residents celebrating the Fourth of July, the square near the courthouse in Seward, Nebraska sits quietly. The town’s usual festivities went virtual this year because of the coronavirus pandemic (Francis G

Revellers enjoy the beach at Coney Island in New York (John Minchillo/AP)

Amalia Abrahamsen fires a cannon during a spontaneous boat gathering that circled around Spofford Lake in Spofford, New Hampshire (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)

Joey Chestnut competes in the Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest (John Minchillo/AP)

He set a new world record of 75 hot dogs (John Minchillo/AP)

Brittani Scott watches her son, Cooper Scott, 2, play with bubbles while waiting to see a display of fireworks in Florida (Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)