UK marks America’s 250th anniversary with events and historic tours

Britain is turning America’s 250th birthday into a year of walks, exhibitions and parliamentary ceremony, with America250UK coordinating commemorations around the July 4, 2026 semiquincentennial.

In January 2026, the Speaker of the UK House of Commons invited US House Speaker Mike Johnson to London for anniversary events. Johnson addressed MPs and peers, met lawmakers, watched proceedings in the Commons Chamber and attended a dinner, while Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the modern relationship had moved from adversaries to close allies, anchored by shared military history from World War II through Korea, the Gulf and Afghanistan.

On the streets of the City of London, tour guide Mark Grant is turning that history into a walkable map. His time-limited guided tours begin at St Paul’s Cathedral and trace overlooked sites linked to the American story, including the forecourt statue of America, depicted as an indigenous female figure with a bow and arrow and a headdress, which has stood there since 1712. Grant also points visitors to the church where Benjamin Franklin worked as a printmaker and to old coffee houses where merchants struck transatlantic trade deals.

The walks have drawn British visitors and Americans alike. Patricia Windham, visiting from Chicago, said Americans often see only one side of the story at home and wanted to understand how independence looked from Britain at the moment of rupture. The City of London Guides Lecturers Association runs the tours.

The National Archives at Kew plans a major exhibition on the birth of the United States to coincide with the anniversary. The American Museum will run America250 displays from February 14, 2026 to January 3, 2027, while Benjamin Franklin House is offering an Ink and Independence online exhibition and walking tours. Sulgrave Manor is planning a July 4 family open house, and the Smithsonian is mounting Our Shared Future: 250, with exhibitions, public programs, education resources and a Folklife Festival road trip reaching communities nationwide and three US territories.