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Keith Lockhart conducted the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra last year on the Fourth of July. (Travis Dove for The Boston Globe/File 2008) |
July 4th sponsorship renewed
Liberty Mutual will back Esplanade event through ’12
Liberty Mutual Group, the Boston insurance company, said yesterday it is renewing its sponsorship of the Boston Pops Fourth of July concert on the Esplanade for another three years.
The sponsorship agreement with Boston 4 Productions, the company that produces the event, totals $7 million and covers Fourth of July concerts from 2010 through 2012, the year Liberty Mutual marks its 100th anniversary, the company said.
Liberty Mutual sponsored its first Fourth of July concert in 2005; its initial five-year sponsorship ends after this year, a company spokesman said.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate America’s birthday, whether you join us at the Esplanade, or enjoy the festivities on television,’’ Edmund F. Kelly, Liberty Mutual Group chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
Liberty Mutual became a sponsor of the celebration after Fidelity Investments ended its support. For many years, David Mugar, the local philanthropist who founded the celebration in 1974, paid for the show. But production costs increased so much that Mugar said he could no longer afford the expense.
Tonight’s televised celebration will feature conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, joined by Grammy Award winner Neil Diamond. Craig Ferguson of CBS’s “Late Late Show’’ will serve as emcee. Liberty Mutual’s sponsorship will allow viewers to watch the 21-minute fireworks grand finale commercial-free.
Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
