July 11, 2025
Joe Lamberti/Courier Post/USA Today Network
The Roots will play a free concert at Dilworth Park on Friday, July 18, as the Phillies start preparations for next summer's MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park. The Roots drummer Questlove is shown above after throwing out the first pitch at a Phillies game in 2019.
As baseball heads into the All-Star break ahead of Tuesday's Midsummer Classic in Atlanta, the Phillies are already beginning festivities in anticipation of hosting the 2026 MLB All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park.
The team will hold a daylong celebration on Friday, July 18, to start the countdown to the showcase and next summer's semiquincentennial marking the nation's 250th birthday. The free event starts at noon at the foot of Dilworth Park outside City Hall, where homegrown hip-hop legends the Roots will perform sets on either side of ceremonies honoring past Phillies All-Stars.
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Mike Schmidt, who played in the 1976 All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium for the bicentennial, will lead an All-Star Walk entry at the park joined by Greg Luzinski, Larry Bowa, John Kruk and Dave Cash. Other participants will include Bobby Abreu and Ryan Howard — both former Home Run Derby winners — and Cole Hamels. The Phillies Phanatic also will be on hand along with guest speakers from the team and city.
Philadelphia's 2026 All-Star Declaration will later make stops for photo opportunities at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2 p.m.), Independence Mall (2:45 p.m.), the Betsy Ross House (3:30 p.m.) and Citizens Bank Park (4:15 p.m.) before that night's Phillies game against the Angels at 6:45 p.m.
Next year's All-Star Game will mark the fifth time Philadelphia has hosted the annual showdown between the National and American leagues and the first time it will be played at Citizens Bank Park. Other major events planned in the city next summer include World Cup matches at Lincoln Financial Field and Fourth of July celebrations on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
