New York City hosted the first fleet gathering of Operation Sail during the 1976 United States Bicentennial.
Operation Sail, often shortened to Op Sail, brought tall-masted sailing ships and naval vessels from many nations together to celebrate the anniversary. The ships gathered in New York City on Independence Day, July 4, 1976, before the event continued in Boston about a week later.
The New York program included an international naval review. President Gerald Ford sailed into New York Harbor aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Wainwright to review the visiting fleet. The ships and crews turned the harbor into one of the most visible international spectacles of the Bicentennial.
Philadelphia was central to the anniversary because the Declaration of Independence was adopted there, but it was not the first Operation Sail host city. Boston hosted the later gathering, making it the most likely alternative answer.