LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After the five secret firework locations were leaked on Reddit, the Kentucky Derby Festival is cutting back this year's Thunder Over Louisville due to crowd concerns.
What You Need To Know
- Two locations have been cut from Saturday's Thunder Over Louisville ceremony
- KDF will only utilize three Louisville-area locations due to "growing concerns of mass gatherings"
- Fireworks will be set off at the Kentucky Exposition Center, Bowman Field and Caesars Southern Indiana
- The fireworks will take place between 9:30 and 10 p.m.
As final set-up continues for this year’s show, Derby Festival organizers said they'll now utilize only three self-contained locations – the Kentucky Exposition Center, Bowman Field and Caesars Southern Indiana. Themed “Illuminating Our Community,” organizers said the 2021 show has always been designed for television.
“It has become clear that more people were planning to gather on Saturday which is not safe,” said Matt Gibson, Kentucky Derby Festival President & CEO. “Speaking with different officials over the last few days we know making these changes is the responsible thing to do. These adjustments will keep people safe while still being able to bring a much-anticipated celebration to the community that fans can enjoy from home.”
As the Festival reimagined this year’s show in light of the pandemic, other changes were also made to Thunder including:
- The concentration of fireworks in the different locations is much smaller than the traditional show on the river.
- This year’s fireworks are focused more on color for the television broadcast.
- The duration of the fireworks is reduced from 30 minutes to 18 minutes.
“This year’s show is different than we’ve ever produced before," Gibson said.
The air show is scheduled for 4-6 p.m. and will also be closed to spectators. The fireworks will take place between 9:30 and 10 p.m. The all-day television coverage begins at 6 a.m. Fans can also tune to Summit Media’s Mix 106.9, the Official Thunder radio partner, for special coverage.
KDF organizers also created a special “Thunder at Home” section at ThunderOverLouisville.org which includes tips for planning a Thunder party at home, Thunder-inspired cocktail and food recipes, coloring pages, Zoom backgrounds and more.
Thunder Over Louisville – the Derby Festival's Opening Ceremonies – is one of the more than 70 events produced by the Derby Festival. The 2021 Thunder Over Louisville will be the 32nd annual production.
-
