Channel 2’s “Georgia Salutes America,” presented by the Georgia Lottery, televises a mix of musical entertainment and coverage of the state’s most spectacular fireworks show, live from Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, GA.

The program features musical tributes recognizing all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. This year, men and women from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard will showcase their musical talents to honor America.

“Georgia Salutes America at Centennial Olympic park is a must see,” said Marian Pittman, station manager of WSB-TV. “Either attending live or watching this highly entertaining event on Channel 2 is one great way for local families to celebrate our country’s independence,” Pittman added.

The broadcast will also feature a special performance by a group of Georgia’s most talented high school students. Each student participated in this year’s Shuler Hensley Awards for excellence in High School Musical Theater. The students will be joined by winners of last year’s Georgia Lottery’s All Access Music Search competition in a special tribute to Georgia and those who serve our country.

Monica Pearson, anchor of Channel 2 Action News at 4 and 6 p.m., and sports anchor Zach Klein will host the first 30-minutes of this special event.  

“Since 1960, Channel 2 has celebrated July 4th with the community. This year, our partnership with Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Lottery will produce the biggest and best show yet,” said Art Rogers, WSB-TV director of programming.

 Coverage will also include a special segment with country music star Rodney Atkins. Atkins performed an intimate concert for military service men and women and their families that was recorded at Channel 2 in partnership with KICKS 101.5 FM radio.

Live Coverage on Channel 2 begins at 8:30 p.m and streaming live on WSBTV.com and on the WSB-TV smartphone app. Then at 9 p.m., the live celebration will be seen all over Georgia including Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, Macon, and Albany, with former Entertainment Tonight anchor Jann Carl serving as host of the musical tribute.

WHAT:  Georgia Salutes America

WHO:   Channel 2’s Monica Pearson and Zach Klein  

WHEN:  Wednesday 8:30 p.m., July 4^th, 2012

WHERE:  Channel 2 WSB-TV

For additional show information contact Art Rogers (404) 897-7479 

About Channel 2 WSB-TV The ABC Affiliate is part of Cox Media Group and ranks as Atlanta’s number one local television station. The station also operates its website, wsbtv.com, its mobile site, wap.wsbtv.com, and airs MeTV on its digital channel 2.2.

About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group  is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. Additionally, CMG owns and operates Valpak, one of North America’s leading direct marketing companies.   With $1.7 billion in revenue, the company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 86 radio stations, eight daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services.   CMG operates in more than 30 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including 30 million TV viewers, more than 4 million print and online newspaper readers, and 18 million radio listeners.  For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.