Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is the closing ceremony of Liberty Weekend, a four day celebration held in July of 1986 to rededicate the Statue Of Liberty, whose torch was dimmed during a complete restoration of the statue that began in 1984. This originally aired on July 6th, 1986. I'm presenting (nearly) the entire broadcast in full, I say nearly because some portions were skipped by the person recording. I realize this is long and many won't have the patience to sit through all of it, so timecodes for points of interest are listed below and in a pinned comment. The commercials from this program will be posted tomorrow. Happy Fourth of July!
1. Sports Salute To Lady Liberty with Muhammad Ali, Nancy Lopez, Rafer Johnson, Bobby Orr, Billie Jean King, Jim Brown, Mark Spitz, Angel Cordero, Mary Lou Retton and Hank Aaron 0:01
2. U.S. Army Drill Team (Portions of this were not recorded and I had to skip part of it due to technical issues with the recording) 5:23
3. U.S. National Anthem sung by former gymnast Cathy Rigby 6:02
4. Lee Iacocca Speech 7:25
5. "Liberty Weekend" Commercial Bumper (Brought to you by Stroh Brewery Company, Plymouth, Kmart and The Prudential) 9:14
6. "Salute To Liberty" featuring U.S. Gymnasts 9:49
7. "Salute To Liberty" featuring U.S. Cheerleaders 20:27
8. Boxing Exhibition with Mike Tyson and Anthony Davis 23:05
9. Figure Skating with Peggy Fleming, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner and Scott Hamilton (Not all of this part was recorded) 28:35
10. Closing Ceremonies with Kenny Rogers 42:29
11. The Mounted Band of the Cavalry Regiment of the Republican Grand Guards of Paris 45:22
12. David L. Wolper Speech 51:20
13. Lee Iacocca Speech 53:37
14. Statue Of Liberty Workers (It was classy of them to celebrate the people who actually worked and restored the statue) 55:27
15. Willie Nelson 57:51
16. Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson sing "You Are So Beautiful" 1:02:38
17. Remember Rejoice Renew 1:06:09
18. Elizabeth Taylor Introduction 1:07:33
19. Statue of Liberty All-American Marching Band 1:09:12
20. The Manhattan Transfer with Gerry Mulligan and Buddy DeFranco 1:19:30
21. "Liberty Weekend" Commercial Bumper (Brought to you by Dewey Stevens Premium Light Wine Cooler, Texaco and Wrangler) 1:24:38
22. Rock and Roll Revue with Jazzercise Ladies 1:25:15
23. Salute To The Fifties with Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell 1:30:28
24. Salute To The Sixties with The Temptations and Four Tops 1:34:35
25. Salute To Country Music 1:40:07
26. Waylon Jennings 1:47:30
27. Flashlight Spectacular 1:51:11
28. Salute To Gospel 1:52:57
29. Billy Preston 1:54:39
30. Patti LaBelle 1:57:16
31. Peter Jennings 2:02:09
32. Salute To Hollywood 2:02:51
33. Shirley MacClaine 2:04:13
34. Gene Kelly 2:12:51
35. Salute To Contemporary 2:16:03
36. The Pointer Sisters 2:17:01
37. Liza Minnelli sings "New York, New York" 2:25:01
38. Vice President George Bush Speech 2:29:40
39. Cicely Tyson and Charlton Heston Speech/Ending Fireworks (Heston must have been fighting the urge to yell "YOU BLEW IT UP! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!" at the Statue of Liberty) 2:33:15
40. End Credits 2:42:18
41. Star Spangled Banner Montage (Sung by Sandi Patty) 2:44:27
42. "Liberty Weekend" Commercial Bumper (Brought to you by Nuprin, Dole Fruit and Cream Bars, IBM and Lipton Iced Tea) 2:51:11
43. End Credits 2:51:53
This is the closing ceremony of Liberty Weekend, a four day celebration held in July of 1986 to rededicate the Statue Of Liberty, whose torch was dimmed during a complete restoration of the statue that began in 1984. This originally aired on July 6th, 1986. I'm presenting (nearly) the entire broadcast in full, I say nearly because some portions were skipped by the person recording. I realize this is long and many won't have the patience to sit through all of it, so timecodes for points of interest are listed below and in a pinned comment. The commercials from this program will be posted tomorrow. Happy Fourth of July!
1. Sports Salute To Lady Liberty with Muhammad Ali, Nancy Lopez, Rafer Johnson, Bobby Orr, Billie Jean King, Jim Brown, Mark Spitz, Angel Cordero, Mary Lou Retton and Hank Aaron 0:01
2. U.S. Army Drill Team (Portions of this were not recorded and I had to skip part of it due to technical issues with the recording) 5:23
3. U.S. National Anthem sung by former gymnast Cathy Rigby 6:02
4. Lee Iacocca Speech 7:25
5. "Liberty Weekend" Commercial Bumper (Brought to you by Stroh Brewery Company, Plymouth, Kmart and The Prudential) 9:14
6. "Salute To Liberty" featuring U.S. Gymnasts 9:49
7. "Salute To Liberty" featuring U.S. Cheerleaders 20:27
8. Boxing Exhibition with Mike Tyson and Anthony Davis 23:05
9. Figure Skating with Peggy Fleming, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner and Scott Hamilton (Not all of this part was recorded) 28:35
10. Closing Ceremonies with Kenny Rogers 42:29
11. The Mounted Band of the Cavalry Regiment of the Republican Grand Guards of Paris 45:22
12. David L. Wolper Speech 51:20
13. Lee Iacocca Speech 53:37
14. Statue Of Liberty Workers (It was classy of them to celebrate the people who actually worked and restored the statue) 55:27
15. Willie Nelson 57:51
16. Kenny Rogers and Willie Nelson sing "You Are So Beautiful" 1:02:38
17. Remember Rejoice Renew 1:06:09
18. Elizabeth Taylor Introduction 1:07:33
19. Statue of Liberty All-American Marching Band 1:09:12
20. The Manhattan Transfer with Gerry Mulligan and Buddy DeFranco 1:19:30
21. "Liberty Weekend" Commercial Bumper (Brought to you by Dewey Stevens Premium Light Wine Cooler, Texaco and Wrangler) 1:24:38
22. Rock and Roll Revue with Jazzercise Ladies 1:25:15
23. Salute To The Fifties with Fabian, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell 1:30:28
24. Salute To The Sixties with The Temptations and Four Tops 1:34:35
25. Salute To Country Music 1:40:07
26. Waylon Jennings 1:47:30
27. Flashlight Spectacular 1:51:11
28. Salute To Gospel 1:52:57
29. Billy Preston 1:54:39
30. Patti LaBelle 1:57:16
31. Peter Jennings 2:02:09
32. Salute To Hollywood 2:02:51
33. Shirley MacClaine 2:04:13
34. Gene Kelly 2:12:51
35. Salute To Contemporary 2:16:03
36. The Pointer Sisters 2:17:01
37. Liza Minnelli sings "New York, New York" 2:25:01
38. Vice President George Bush Speech 2:29:40
39. Cicely Tyson and Charlton Heston Speech/Ending Fireworks (Heston must have been fighting the urge to yell "YOU BLEW IT UP! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!" at the Statue of Liberty) 2:33:15
40. End Credits 2:42:18
41. Star Spangled Banner Montage (Sung by Sandi Patty) 2:44:27
42. "Liberty Weekend" Commercial Bumper (Brought to you by Nuprin, Dole Fruit and Cream Bars, IBM and Lipton Iced Tea) 2:51:11
43. End Credits 2:51:53
