St. Petersburg told residents this year’s Independence Day celebration would “double in scale and splendor” for America’s 250th anniversary, but invoices obtained by Florida Politics from the City of St. Pete show spending only slightly higher than last year, with direct spending on the actual fireworks the same as in 2025.
The additional cost went toward the fee for using the barge, from which pyrotechnic experts launch the fireworks.
On the city’s America250 pages, officials said this year’s fireworks would be twice as large, while a city news release called the display “bigger than ever.” While the overall cost of the show was higher this year than last, it was not “double,” and the amount spent on the fireworks themselves remained unchanged.
The city was billed the same $43,750 fireworks display fee for the America 250 event in 2026 as in 2025, while the overall invoice rose from nearly $71,000 to nearly $99,000. The difference came from barge-related and support costs, which rose from just over $27,000 in 2025 to $55,000 this year. The total invoice for the America 250 fireworks display also matched the city’s 2024 invoice, but a larger share of this year’s bill went directly to fireworks.
The city has used the same company, Pyro Productions, for its Fourth of July fireworks shows since 2022. The 2021 invoice came from a different vendor and listed only a single $35,000 fireworks display charge. The fee is not itemized.
Some residents have taken to social media since Saturday’s fireworks show in downtown. Now, the 2026 spending may help explain sour sentiments shared by residents, even as others defended the city’s celebration.
Public Facebook posts and comments after the July 4 display reflect a visible wave of frustration with the city’s Independence Day celebration, with complaints centering on the scale of the fireworks and the lack of a strong finale after hours of sitting in traffic, hunting for parking, and (in some cases) shelling out extra cash for paid premium viewing areas.
Luis Bedoya, a local real estate executive, called the fireworks “a real letdown” and criticized the display after paying a premium for VIP area access and higher parking prices.
“The city should be ashamed. They charged for ‘VIP’ areas that were literally public space, jacked up parking prices, and then barely spent anything on the actual fireworks show. To top it off, there was zero staff directing traffic or foot flow — took us 45 minutes just to get out of the parking lot,” Bedoya wrote July 5 on Facebook.
“For a 250th anniversary celebration that was supposed to be ‘bigger and better,’ this was a huge miss. Anyone else experience this tonight? Would love to see the city actually address this for next year.”
Alasdair Wilson responded that she came from London “to share the big 250,” and was told this year’s celebration would be “the biggest and best ever.”
“I’ve seen bigger fireworks displays at weddings,” she said, punctuating with a Union Flag emoji.
Another post, from Shriner Kurt, called the display an “embarrassment” and said the show lasted about 20 minutes, with “one or two fireworks at a time.”
“It was the worst fireworks display put on by any city or organization I have seen in my entire life,” he said.
“The show lasted 20 minutes — one or two fireworks at a time. The finale was almost non-existent. I wouldn’t call it a finale at all. It was a few extra fireworks over a 20-second period.”
Daniel Figueroa, a former Florida Politics reporter who moved out of state, defended the budget show, but mostly for fiduciary reasons.
“I love me some fireworks. But I also love me some public money going to public good that benefits the people, not entertains for a few minutes,” Figueroa said. “People can’t afford groceries, so it’s no surprise a city can’t afford, or isn’t willing, to spend lavishly on something so trivial as fireworks. We can still be patriotic without blowing things up. Actually, maybe that should be the norm.”
Another prominent resident, Gold & Diamond Source President and Chief Operating Officer Julie Johnson Weintraub, posted that she found the display “super disappointing.”
“Yikes! Other countries did more!!” Weintraub wrote.
The public complaints did not come only from people who said they watched from the St. Pete Pier. Some commenters pointed to better experiences outside the city. Several of the comments were overtly political, tying disappointment to Mayor Ken Welch and city leadership.
Social media posts are not a scientific measure of public opinion, and not every reaction was negative. But the complaints reflect high expectations that, to many, were not met, and that’s at least partially supported by the receipts.
