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No one wants to bankroll future Fourth of July celebrations on the Esplanade

Special effects are fired from the Hatch Shell during the Stars and Stripes forever at the 42d Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on July 04, 2015. Craig F. Walker / Globe Staff

The future of Boston’s Fourth of July celebration along the Charles River is uncertain with the retirement of David Mugar, the event’s executive producer, The Boston Globe reports.

This year’s festivities on the Esplanade will be the last organized by the 77-year-old, who first convinced Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler in 1974 to end the July 4 concert at the Hatch Shell with Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and fireworks.

Mugar told the Globe he thought it would be easy to find a new sponsor for the event after he announced his retirement in December. But of the 1,000 companies across the Northeast he contacted to continue the event, only 75 asked for more information. Ultimately, none said they were interested in sponsoring the celebration.

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“As for the future, I really don’t know,” Mugar told the Globe. “I can’t believe that things won’t work out, but I can’t really answer you.”

Read the full Globe report here.

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