The 2016 America250 commission law specifically named four leading cities for anniversary events.
Those cities were Boston, Philadelphia, New York City and Charleston, South Carolina. Each had a major connection to the colonial era, the American Revolution or the early history of the United States, making them suitable locations for nationally significant commemorations.
Philadelphia was especially prominent because the Continental Congress met there and adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Boston was central to the origins of the Revolution, while New York played an important military and political role. Charleston connected the anniversary to the southern colonies and the Revolutionary War.
The law did not restrict all observances to those four places. It described them as leading cities while allowing official and independent programs across the United States. This distinction matters because America250 was intended as a nationwide observance rather than a single-city festival.