Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group today announced that it would continue its sponsorship of the Boston Pops Fourth of July Concert on the Esplanade through 2012, which coincides with the company’s 100th anniversary. The multi-year sponsorship agreement with Boston 4 Productions, the company that produces the event, totals approximately $7 million.

Headquartered in Boston since its inception in 1912, and with nearly 4,000 employees in 33 offices across Massachusetts, Liberty Mutual’s continued support will preserve a 36-year holiday tradition that brings an estimated 500,000 concertgoers to the Charles River Esplanade on the Fourth of July for free, family-friendly entertainment.

“This event has helped define our great city for decades while becoming one of the nation’s biggest Independence Day parties,” said Edmund F. Kelly, Liberty Mutual Group chairman, president and CEO. “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.”

This year’s concert will feature Conductor Keith Lockhart and The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, joined by Grammy Award winner Neil Diamond, perhaps best known locally for the Red Sox fan favorite, “Sweet Caroline.” Emceed by Craig Ferguson of the CBS “Late, Late Show,” the event will air locally on WBZ-TV from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., followed by a national CBS broadcast from 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. For those watching the celebration from home, Liberty Mutual will bring the event’s 21-minute fireworks grand finale commercial-free to millions of viewers across the nation.

“Over the past four decades, this celebration has become a mainstay in the lives of Bostonians, TV viewers, and the roughly one-third of loyal concertgoers visiting from outside New England,” said David G. Mugar, executive producer of The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular. “We are delighted that Liberty Mutual will continue to be our partner in bringing this time-honored event to so many people locally and across the country.”

According to a 2008 study by Somerville-based research firm Mt. Auburn associates and commissioned for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular generates an estimated $20 million annually in Massachusetts tourism revenue.* Liberty Mutual, which offers home and auto insurance to Massachusetts residents and is the nation’s fifth largest property and casualty insurer, first began its sponsorship of The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular in 2005.

To ensure all television viewers can enjoy the celebration, Liberty Mutual will sponsor the live closed captioning of The Boston Fireworks Spectacular’s national telecast on CBS, supplied by the Boston non-profit Media Access Group at WGBH. For those listening to the concert, The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular will air locally on Boston’s classical station, 99.5 FM WCRB, and WBZ Newsradio 1030 AM. A streaming audiocast of the concert will be available on the Internet through www.wbz.com.