We may still be a day away from New Year’s Eve, but preparations are already underway for the big fireworks show at the Space Needle.
The California-based company Pyro Spectaculars has been in charge of coordinating and designing the fireworks display for nearly 25 years.
Click on the post below or here to see a 360 view from the very top of the Space Needle.
A 360 view from the very top of the Space Needle! (You can move your phone or grab the screen down to see some of the...
Posted by KIRO 7 News on Friday, December 30, 2016
Crews have been planning the show since August and have been on site at the Space Needle since earlier this week.
“This is the biggest one we've ever done -- significantly larger,” said Ian Gilfillan, Pyro Spectaculars executive vice president. “It doesn’t sound like much, but we added two minutes to the display-- and in the fireworks world, it’s a lot.”
Gilfillan said for the first time ever, the Space Needle fireworks show, sponsored by T-Mobile, will be 10 minutes long.
That means more firing stations, 87 in all, located on multiple levels of the structure.
Crews will remotely set off fireworks from about 2,000 cylinder cues from multiple levels of the Space Needle.
“We get to work with all types of movements up and down,” says Gilfillan. “We will be shooting geometric shapes, squares and circles, which we haven’t done before.”
The show’s designer said the song list to go with the fireworks will include a tribute to great artists we have lost this year, including David Bowie and Prince.
Anywhere you can see the Space Needle on New Year’s eve, you can see the show. Some top spots to see the display includes: Alki Beach, Queen Anne’s Kerry Park, and Seattle Center.
>> Related: New Year's Eve is No. 2 holiday for vehicles being stolen
Last year, security for the event in the Seattle Center was beefed up in the wake of Paris and San Bernardino attacks. KIRO 7 News' Henry Rosoff learned this year the concern is a truck plowing into a crowd, after the Nice, France and Berlin attacks.
At Times Square in New York, dozens of heavy sand trucks will be used to block streets and guard the large crowds.
Local police said Seattle probably won't see some of the precautions seen in other cities. Part of the reason is the Seattle Center already has a lot of blockades for the event. Additionally, many places in Seattle Center are protected by buildings.
Cox Media Group
