United States Destinations

Fireworks extravaganza to launch Las Vegas centennial celebration

Photo courtesy of Las Vegas News Bureau

The largest fireworks show in Las Vegas' history will officially kick off Las Vegas' year-long 100th birthday celebration in 2005.

Entitled “America's Party 2005: Celebrating 100 Years of Neon”, the fireworks extravaganza will
launch from ten resort rooftops along the Las Vegas Strip and it is claimed it will outshine the neon of this mega-glitzy metropolis.

"In a tribute to our centennial, this year's fireworks show had to be a once-in-a-lifetime event — bigger, better and more incredible than ever before," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, chairman of the Las Vegas Centennial Committee. "Fireworks by Grucci created, just for America's Party, a custom-designed aerial shell called the Las Vegas Centennial Chip to
commemorate this landmark event."

One hundred of these “chips” — each measuring 200 feet in diameter — will be launched as a kickoff to the America's Party Grand Finale and herald the beginning of the centennial celebration to come.

The countdown will begin with a B-1 bomber flyover of the Strip and Grucci Grand Illuminations, including thousands of eye-popping special effects precisely integrated with lasers, all choreographed to a customized musical soundtrack from headliner Clint Holmes. The first-of-its-kind pyrotechnic display, which utilizes Grucci's exclusive Rumble Digit Countdown
technology, will set a five-mile stretch of sky above the Las Vegas Strip aglow with a rainbow of color, while setting the stage for the Grand Finale, a night of revelry featuring world-class entertainment, events and concerts.

The ten rooftop locations for the pyrotechnic display include the Excalibur, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Bally's, Flamingo Las Vegas, Venetian, Treasure Island, Stardust, Circus-Circus and Stratosphere.

According to Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, chairman of the board for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, more than 300,000 Vegas visitors are slated to ring in the New Year on what is traditionally the city's busiest weekend.

"New Year's Eve is a great time to come to Las Vegas," Gibson said. "And by celebrating 100 years of neon, America's Party is putting icing on the cake and kicking off an exciting centennial year filled with truly momentous events."

For visitors and residents spending the evening downtown, the Fremont Street Experience — located on the street where Las Vegas first began — will pay tribute to Las Vegas' rich history with a New Year's Eve celebration featuring live music and entertainment beginning at 7 p.m. For more information on New Year's Eve festivities throughout Las Vegas, visit
www.visitlasvegas.com. For more information about the Las Vegas Centennial celebration, go to www.lasvegas2005.org.