Thunder Over Louisville explained

WHAT: Thunder over Louisville
WHERE: Louisville, Ohio River
WHEN: Saturday 17^th April 2010
WHAT TIME: 9:30pm – 10:00pm

Thunder over Louisville is an annual event that kick-starts the Kentucky Derby in spectacular style, with the largest fireworks display in North America.

28 minutes of non-stop fireworks filled in with multiple finales and a varying soundtrack to give everyone something to enjoy. Part of the idea behind the show is that every section in it is a finale. The theory is the more finales the better! Who are we to argue!

So how do they create this spectacle for the senses? Well, there are a few simple ingredients involved.

• 60 tons of fireworks
• 56,215 shells
• 700 miles of cable
• 250 tons of launching tubes
• 1,800 feet of barges
• 907,200 kilos of sand
• 2 miles of waterfall
• 8 x 400 foot long barges
• 28 minutes of madness
• 500,000 spectators
• 21 years of expectation

All rigged up and set off by the Zambelli Family, America’s first family of fireworks who have been involved in the show for the past 18 of its 21 year history.

This years song list has 51 tunes designed to have a little something for everyone including “Night Fever” by the Bee Gees, the classic “Blame it on the Boogie” and the contemporary “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga. One song that is included every year is the inspirational “When you wish upon a star” which lends itself well to fireworks displays for obvious reasons.

The Thunder over Louisville is the start to the Kentucky Derby Festival which sees 2 weeks of celebrations in Louisville, Kentucky and Southern Indiana and also features some incredible aerobatics from over 100 planes with daring sky diving teams and breathtaking stunts, the aerial antics start at 3pm. However the highlight, of course, is the fireworks!