If you're planning to watch the fireworks show this New Year's Eve, get ready for a big change. Crews were working all day Tuesday to rig up the pyrotechnics that will light up the night. News 3's Katherine Whaley explains that this year, viewers on the Strip will have a much closer view of the fireworks.
It's not the lights of the Strip that brought these folks to Las Vegas. After eight years electrifying the night sky, midnight fireworks have become a symbol of New Year's in Las Vegas. But this year, partiers on the Strip will have a front row seat for the show.
"The fireworks, everything, the excitement. I just can't wait to see it all tomorrow night. It's going to be great."
The fireworks will be launched, not from the roofs of properties like year's past, but from seven garage and parking lot locations. The reason for the change is due in part to the Monte Carlo fire earlier this year.
"The fireworks will be playing a lot more intimately to the audience, as in the past, where they were playing off the tops of the roofs of the various hotels," said Felix Grucci, who heads up Fireworks by Grucci.
In a move they say is perfectly safe, pyrotechnicians believe bringing the show 300 feet closer to the Strip will make it more dramatic.
"There have been numerous site inspection trips that staff members do," Grucci continues. "We design a show to fit the location and the challenges those locations present to us."
It was six months of planning, over 30,000 pyrotechnical explosives, and 1,800 hours of manpower - all for a show that lasts just eight electrifying minutes.
"Knowing that it's being broadcast all over Las Vegas - all over the world - as people will be tuning in on New Year's, that's what the reward is about," says Pyrotechnician Phil Barone. "There will be no doubt that 2009 has arrived."
Clark County officials say the only reason they would cancel the fireworks would be if there are sustained winds of ten miles per hour or greater. In eight years, they've never had to make that call. And this year's weather is looking good as well.
Although the fireworks will be closer for folks on the Strip, they will be more difficult - if not impossible - to see from other locations around the valley.
Las Vegas fireworks locations
- Mandalay Bay - Convention Center Lot (corner of Russell and Las Vegas Blvd.)
- Luxor - Parking Lot (across Las Vegas Blvd. on the corner of Mandalay Bay Road)
- MGM Grand - Parking Garage
- Paris - Parking Garage
- Caesars Palace - Parking Garage
- Treasure Island (TI)/Mirage - Valet Parking Garage
- Las Vegas Convention Center - Gold Parking Lot
- Stratosphere - Parking Garage
- Fremont Street Experience - Under the canopy
If you're going to be out on the Strip or downtown on New Year's Eve, there are some rules. From 6 pm Wednesday night until 6 am Thursday morning, cans and bottles are prohibited. There is also a ban on large backpacks and bags. If you're under 18, you must be with a parent or a legal guardian after 6 pm.
And if you want to catch all of the action on New Year's Eve without leaving the comfort of your own home, just turn to News 3. Kendall Tenney, Sophia Choi, and Kevin Janison will be hosting America's Party 2009 live on the Strip and on Fremont Street. It all begins Wednesday night at 11 pm and doesn't stop until the party's over.
