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Now in its 19th year, Thunder Over Louisville continues
to deliver a pyrotechnics spectacular like no other.
Created as the Opening Ceremonies of the Kentucky
Derby Festival, it offers an explosive kick-off
to two entire weeks of celebration in Louisville,
Kentucky and Southern Indiana. With an estimated
average attendance of half a million people, it
has become the largest annual event in its region.
The show continues to be the largest annual pyrotechnics
display in North America thanks to the artistry
of Zambelli
Internationale and the production of Visual
Presentations.
"It's the kind of show you have to see to
believe", says Matt Gibson, Derby Festival
Vice President of Events. "We have great
television coverage of the event, but unless you
are there in person, you can't FEEL the fireworks
pounding in your chest and the concrete vibrate
underneath your feet. Thunder is the kind of show
that needs to be felt and not just seen and heard."
Staging the pyrotechnic spectacular of Thunder
each year for the Derby Festival is the First
Family of Fireworks. Zambelli Fireworks Internationale
first became involved with Thunder Over Louisville
in 1991. The annual show is larger than the opening
and closing ceremonies of the Atlanta and Barcelona
Olympics combined. According to the Zambelli's
it is unchallenged as the largest annual pyrotechnic
production in North America.
To assemble a show the size of Thunder, Zambelli
Internationale utilizes eight tractor trailers
filled with nearly 60 tons of fireworks shells.
The physical set-up includes 250 tons of launching
tubes, some as high as 10 feet with a diameter
of 1 and 1/2 feet. Two million pounds of sand
will pack the firing tubes on 1,800 feet of barges.
Almost 700 miles of wire cable connecting 20 firing
boards are tied to the command post for synchronization
to the music. This is the largest show the Zambellis
perform each year and the Zambellis are the largest
fireworks family in the world.
The magic of Thunder is in the formula of the
show says Wayne Hettinger, Show Director and owner
of Visual Presentations. "Each year, people
think we make the show longer to be the largest
show and that's just not the case. The secret
with Thunder has been to pack as much firepower
into 28 minutes as possible and produce a series
of 'finales'." Hettinger has it down to a
science working with the team from Zambelli to
create a heart-stopping, eye-popping show.
"It all starts with the music", continues
Hettinger. "We work to lay out a soundtrack
that most everyone will be able to relate to a
couple of songs. This enables people to bring
their own experience with these songs and project
them into the show they're watching. It's very
gratifying to see people start to move and react
to their favorite cuts of the soundtrack and it
gives Zambelli the foundation on which to build
the show."
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