Fireworks by Grucci readies for Las Vegas’ first citywide July 4th display
A pioneering fireworks display will hit the skies over the Strip this weekend as the city celebrates its first major holiday since fully reopening.
On Friday, about a dozen workers were nearly 40 stories above Las Vegas Boulevard at Treasure Island, installing the fireworks for the Las Vegas’ first-ever citywide Fourth of July fireworks show.
Fireworks by Grucci, which is producing the display, offered a preview of the show during a media tour Friday morning on the roof of Treasure Island. Phil Grucci, the company’s CEO and creative director, said he hopes this weekend’s show will be a coming-out party for Las Vegas after 16 months of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This weekend for the Grucci family is huge for us,” he said. “It really signifies that we’re back … . We want to come back and we want to come back strong.”
For about eight minutes and 11 seconds, tens of thousands of fireworks will take to the skies from Aria, Planet Hollywood Resort, Caesars Palace, The Venetian, Treasure Island, Resorts World Las Vegas and The Strat.
Grucci said his company didn’t start planning its Fourth of July events until around April because of lingering concerns about the pandemic. Normally, that process begins in November.
Naturally, the display will be very “red, white and blue,” Grucci said, “with a lot of stars and stripes. We have to have stars and stripes on the Fourth of July.” He added that the finale is going to be “huge.”
There’s another aspect of this year’s show that makes it even more special. In early January, Grucci lost one of its key producers, Chris Carlino, to COVID-19.
“There’s a lot of emotion with the whole team that’s out here to pull this thing off and pull it off right,” Grucci said.
The Strip show is not alone in the civic celebrations. Other July Fourth fireworks shows around the valley include those launched from the Plaza, Red Rock Resort, Green Valley Ranch Resort and Lake Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is expected to draw more than 300,000 visitors for the Fourth of July celebrations, according to Department of Transportation officials.
Contact Dylan Svoboda at dsvoboda@reviewjournal.com. Follow @dylanksvoboda on Twitter.
