U.S. Army's 250th Anniversary Parade Costs $25-$45 Million

The Army Birthday Parade, a grand celebration marking the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, is set to take place in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. This event, which will involve hundreds of Army vehicles, thousands of soldiers, and dozens of warplanes, is estimated to cost between $25 million and $45 million. The parade will also suspend passenger traffic at Reagan National Airport and coincides with the 79th birthday of Donald Trump, who first proposed the idea of a military parade in 2018 after attending Bastille Day in Paris.

The original plan for a military parade in 2018 was abandoned due to concerns about the high cost, estimated at $92 million, and the potential impact on local roads and public safety, which was projected to cost an additional $21 million. Despite the controversy surrounding this year’s parade, there is significant public interest in the event. The celebration will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET, with the parade itself starting at 6:30 p.m. ET and lasting approximately one hour. Following the parade, there will be a concert and a fireworks display at 9:45 p.m. ET.

While no major networks have announced plans to air the parade, C-SPAN will provide commercial-free coverage starting at 6:00 p.m. ET. CNN and NewsNation will also cover the event, with NewsNation offering a four-hour block of parade coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET. The parade will be livestreamed by various outlets, including local D.C. stations and all U.S. Army social-media platforms. For those without a cable subscription, several online streaming services offer access to news channels, including Peacock, Disney+, Max, Hulu with Live TV, YouTubeTV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream.

The parade route will follow Constitution Avenue NW, starting at 23rd Street and ending at 15th Street near the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The last military parade in the U.S. took place in 1991, following the end of the Gulf War, and was the largest military celebration since the end of World War II. The 2025 Army Birthday Parade will feature an impressive display of military might, including 50 aircraft, 34 horses, two mules, one dog, and 6,600 soldiers from every Army division, as well as 28 M1 Abrams battle tanks.