The US marks its 250th anniversary with a ceremony before the World Cup round of 16 match in Philadelphia where Idina Menzel sings and a giant flag and banners quote the Declaration of Independence.The Philadelphia Choir and the hip-hop group The Roots perform, Naval Air Station Oceana launches a VFA-11 and VFA-81 flyover, and two fireworks sequences include a finale set to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.”Organizers call the occasion the fourth major
World Cup ceremony after opening events in Mexico and Canada, cite Independence Hall as the symbolic anchor and say a regional heatwave complicates logistics for 67,000 spectators.