As France Prepares to Light Up the Statue of Liberty for America’s 250th, Peek Into the History of the Symbol of Transatlantic Friendship

Here’s how three French idealists—an abolitionist, a sculptor and the engineer behind the Eiffel tower—brought the representation of freedom to life

Michele Debczak | Correspondent

July 1, 2026 11:11 a.m.

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The Statue of Liberty became a symbol of freedom and possibilities for immigrants passing through Ellis Island during the late 19th and early 20th centuries—so it’s fitting that she’s something of an immigrant herself. France gave the colossal monument, engineered by the designer of the Eiffel Tower, to the United States as a token of international friendship and a commemoration of the end of slavery and the American centennial. Now France is planning an elaborate light show at Liberty Island for the Fourth of July, the latest gesture in the centuries-long alliance.

The French consulate announced plans for a “monumental artistic creation” centered around Lady Liberty, Agence France-Presse reports, which will be shown on ABC as part of its programming for America’s 250th anniversary.

As Serge Duchêne reports for Euronews, the project is being fully funded by private sponsors. It’s happening in cooperation with the National Park Service, which granted authorization for the show following months of negotiations.

“The Statue of Liberty will be revealed to the public as never before, in a production designed to amplify its symbolic and emotional power,” the consulate says, according to AFP.

Before it was an icon of democracy known around the world, the Statue of Liberty was an idea dreamed up by Edouard de Laboulaye in 1865. The U.S. had just ended the Civil War and abolished slavery, and the French political thinker and abolitionist was inspired to propose a project that would affirm the bond between the two nations and serve as an enduring symbol of freedom.

The mission resonated with French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, and he came onboard as the primary designer. He was responsible for creating the iconography the statue is known for today, such as her crown evoking rays of light shining across the world, the flaming torch in her hand, the broken shackle around her foot and her tablet reading “July 4, 1776” in Roman numerals.

Bartholdi was also the person who chose the monument’s location. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, an 1886 article in The Columbian described the artist entering New York Harbor aboard a passenger ship and being struck by a vision of the “majestic figure of Liberty towering with her torch” and “lighting the crowded harbor, with its tributary rivers and the vast, blackened cities on their borders, the very image of a teeming, populous miniature world.”

Before building his eponymous tower, Gustave Eiffel served as the project’s engineer, designing the iron skeleton that would prop up the figure’s copper exterior.

In 1876, Bartholdi started supervising French craftsmen in the construction of the statue. The arm holding the torch was shown at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, according to the National Park Service. Once the statue topped out at 151 feet in July 1884, it had to be taken apart and shipped to the U.S. in 350 pieces. It was reassembled on a giant pedestal on what is now Liberty Island, and in October 1886, Liberty Enlightening the World officially debuted in its permanent home across the Atlantic from its birthplace.

President Grover Cleveland remarked at the dedication: “This token of the affection and consideration of the people of France demonstrates the kinship of republics, and conveys to us the assurance that in our efforts to commend to mankind the excellence of a government resting upon popular will, we still have beyond the American continent, a steadfast ally.”

Today Lady Liberty is one of the most famous symbols of America’s ideals. This makes it easy to overlook the statue’s foreign origins. The French-produced light show later this week will serve as an homage to the monument’s transatlantic roots and the international allyship that dates back to the Revolutionary War.

As France’s consul in New York, Cedrik Fouriscot, tells AFP, “Our friendship goes back 250 years; it remains very strong, it is deep, and that is why we wanted to do something memorable.”

Michele Debczak | Read More

Michele Debczak is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. She appears in seasons four through six of History Channel’s “The Food That Built America,” and her work has been featured in Mental Floss, IndieWire, Eater and Vice.